NIEBUHR (Carsten). Trip to Arabia & other... - Lot 71 - Ader

NIEBUHR (Carsten). Trip to Arabia & other neighbouring countries. Amsterdam: S.J. Baalde; Utrecht: J. van Schoonhoven & Comp., 1776-1780 - 2 volumes in-4, 252 x 198: VIII pp., (3 ff.), 409 pp., 72 plates, 1 folding map; VI pp., (5 ff.), 389 pp., 52 plates. Blond calfskin, triple gilt fillet framed on the plates, spine ribbed and decorated, inside gilt roulette, gilt edges (contemporary binding). Brunet, IV, col. 74. - Chadenat, 5431. original edition of the French translation of this famous account of the voyage to Arabia, Persia and India by the Danish navigator Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815 ). It was on the proposal of the German theologian and orientalist J. D. Michaelis to the Danish government that this scientific expedition to the East was organized. The purpose of this journey, which lasted six years, from 1761 to 1767, was to study certain passages of the Bible in greater depth by studying the geography, customs, fauna and flora of these countries. Carsten Niebuhr took part as a mathematician and astronomer and was the only survivor, which earned him the honour of being named a member of the principal learned societies of Europe. The edition offers a rich iconography with no less than 124 plates representing views, plans, costumes, etc., engraved by Philips C. Jacobs, Th. Koning, C. H. Koning, Carel Jacob De Huyser, Cornelis Brouwer, C. F. Fritsch, O. de Vries, Tringham and L. V. Beek based on compositions by Georg Wilhelm Baurefeind (1728-1763), Carsten Niebuhr and P. Kramer. In addition, there is a folding map of Yemen, dated 1763, with damaged bindings, hinges split and glued awkwardly, blunt corners, damaged head caps with missing and worn-out rubbing . Very good interior condition except for a wetness on plate XXXIV in the first volume. Scorched LXI board, light wetting in the second volume.