"ABUNDANCE OF MIRACLES AND STRANGE THINGS": MANDEVILLE'S TRAVELS, 1725

MANDEVILLE, John. The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundevile, Kt. Which Treateth of the Way to Hierusalem; and of Marvayles of Inde, with Other Ilands and Countryes. London: Printed for J. Woodman and D. Lyon, and C. Davis, 1725. Octavo, contemporary calf sympathetically rebacked, raised bands. $5000.

First edition, first issue, large paper copy, one of only 350 copies printed, of the definitive English translation of a fantastical medieval travel narrative that helped shape European thought on the Near, Middle and Far East.

One of the most popular travelogues of the Middle Ages, Mandeville's Travels describes a 34-year-long voyage by a pseudonymous 14th-century English knight who allegedly journeyed from St. Albans to the Holy Land, Egypt, Arabia, India, Cathay, Tartary and the realm of Prester John. The text is largely fictitious, drawn from a variety of unreliable sources, and the actual compiler is still unidentified—but "the book remains, and is none the less delightful for the mystery which attaches to it, and… [in the history of English literature] it stands as the first, or almost the first, attempt to bring secular subjects within the domain of English prose, and that is enough to make it mark an epoch" (Pollard, Travels, "Bibliographical Note"). The text was originally known via French and Latin manuscripts and first appeared in print in Dutch circa 1470; the present edition marks the first printed appearance of this English translation, "publish'd entire from an Original MS. in the Cotton Library," which established itself as the most authoritative version. With tipped-in title page printed in red and black. ESTC notes that the work was "printed by William Bowyer; his records show 350 copies printed." ESTC T100822. Howgego I M39. Catalogue of the Interesting Contents of Walton Hall… Property of the Late Edward Hailstone 1294. Elaborate black and gilt leather armorial bookplate of Edward Hailstone (1818-1890).

Minor foxing; slight wear to original leather. A handsome copy.