"HIS ACCOUNT OF THE PERSIAN COURT… [IS] OF GREAT INTEREST": 1686 FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF CHARDIN'S IMPORTANT TRAVELS INTO PERSIA AND THE EAST INDIES, SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED

(PERSIA) CHARDIN, John. The Travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East Indies. London: Printed for Moses Pitt, 1686. Folio (8-1/2 by 12-1/2 inches), contemporary full mottled calf rebacked with original spine and red morocco spine label laid down, raised bands.

First edition in English of this famed 17th-century narrative by one of the most intrepid travelers of the period, illustrated with folding map of the Black Sea, engraved title page, and 16 splendid engraved plates (11 large folding or double-page), depicting views of cities, courts and monuments.

Chardin's first visit to the East was made in 1665, at the age of 22, as a dealer in jewels; his most important voyage was made in 1671. Chardin's route differed from that usually taken by travelers to the East Indies in that he proceeded by way of the Black Sea and its bordering countries, in part because he was forced to flee from Constantinople when tensions between the grand vizier and the French ambassador made life precarious for French subjects there. He escaped in a small vessel across the Black Sea, and finally arrived in Ispahan at the Court of the Shah, where he lived for four years before returning to Europe. "Chardin's style of writing is simple and graphic, and he gives a faithful account of what he saw and heard. Montesquieu, Rousseau, Gibbon and Helvetius acknowledge the value of his writings; and Sir William Jones, the oriental scholar, says he gave the best account of [Muslim] nations ever published" (DNB). "His account of the Persian court and of his business transactions with the Shah are of great interest" (Cox I, 250). The appendix to this volume, The Coronation of Solyman III, gives Chardin's eyewitness account of the new Shah's throne, diadem, sword and dagger, as seen by his appreciative jeweler's eye. Bound without engraved frontispiece portrait of the author. Though the title page calls this "The First Volume," this is all that was published of this edition; the expanded second edition (in French) was not published until 1711. Issued concurrently with an edition in French; see Brunet 20612 ("Ce voyage est un des plus intéressants que l'on ait publiés dans le siècle dernier"). Gap in pagination between pp. 264-331, as issued; text complete. Engraved headpieces and initials. Wing C-2043. Cox I, 249-50. Bookplate of Sir Arthur Dalrymple (1847-1936), Admiral of the Royal Fleet; early owner ink signatures.

Closed tear to leaf Pppp, not affecting legibility. Occasional reinforcement to folding plates on versos or margins only. Text and plates clean. An exceptionally beautiful copy in nicely restored contemporary calf.