[PRÉVOST (Antoine François)]. - Lot 29

[PRÉVOST (Antoine François)]. Captain Robert Lade’s Travels in Various Parts of Africa, Asia, and America: Containing the History of His Fortunes and His Observations on the Colonies and Trade of the Spaniards, the English, the Dutch, etc. Paris: Didot, 1744. — 2 volumes in-12, 165 x 93: (1 fol.), xvj, 370 pp., (1 blank fol.), 1 map; (1 fol.), 400 pp. poorly numbered 360, 1 map. Marbled calfskin, plain spine with decoration, red edges (contemporary binding). First edition of this fictional travelogue, composed by Abbé Prévost. To create it, he borrowed excerpts from authentic travel accounts and wove them into a fictional narrative, thereby lending his story a startling sense of realism. Thanks to this literary deception, Abbé Prévost managed to fool many scholars, including Buffon himself, who cited Robert Lade as a reference well into the 19th century. Published a year before the release of the *Histoire générale des voyages*—another major work initiated by Prévost himself—this book follows in the tradition of the exotic tales that captivated Europe during the Enlightenment. The edition is illustrated with two fold-out maps; the first, engraved by Desbruslins, depicts a portion of North America, while the second, engraved by Lattré, is a nautical chart. A tear in the headband of the first volume; missing headbands on the second volume; a dulled corner. Provenance: Château de Rosny, with bookplate. — Paul Lehauby, with bookplate.