BARROW (John). - Lot 37

BARROW (John). A Voyage to Cochinchina, via the Islands of Madeira, Tenerife, and Cape Verde, Brazil, and the Island of Java, containing new and authentic information on the natural and civil conditions of these various countries; accompanied by the Official Account of a Journey to the Land of the Boushouanas, in the Interior of Southern Africa. Paris: F. Buisson, 1807. — 2 volumes in-8, 196 x 120, and an atlas in-4, 293 x 215: xiv, 406 pp., (1 f.); (2 ff.), 408 pp.; (2 ff.), 18 plates. Speckled tan sheepskin, cold-stamped fillet framing the covers, plain spine with decorative lettering for the two text volumes, and speckled tan half-sheepskin, plain spine with decorative lettering for the atlas (contemporary bindings). First edition of the translation by geographer Conrad Malte-Brun (1775–1826) of the account of the journey to Cochinchina by traveler and geographer John Barrow (1764–1848), who was then attached to the British embassy in China led by Lord Macartney. In his translation, Malte-Brun makes significant modifications and additions, both in substance and form. In the fifth chapter, devoted to Brazil, he notably omits a digression on the freedom of Black people and the Saint-Domingue expedition, which he considers to offer no new insights, with the exception of an excerpt from a proclamation by Dessalines, Emperor of Haiti. This text, although faithfully quoted, is criticized for its harsh tone and its accusations against Napoleon and Leclerc. Malte-Brun justifies this omission by his desire to spare the reader unnecessary rhetoric, while reaffirming his intellectual independence from Barrow’s opinions. In place of these sections, Malte-Brun includes a treatise on Brazil, based on the best Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch sources, which he presents as the most comprehensive and reliable supplement ever published on that country. The description of Cochinchina, which occupies the last three chapters, is the heart of Barrow’s work. Malte-Brun, recognizing the richness and precision of this account, makes no changes to it, except for the addition of a few details drawn from Loureiro’s Portuguese memoirs and Valentyn’s immense Dutch work—sources that were difficult to access and which Barrow had been unable to consult. Chapter V recounts an expedition to Southern Africa led by Somerville, chief surgeon of the Cape of Good Hope garrison, and Truter, a member of the Court of Justice, with the aim of “finding livestock to purchase to replace that which an epizootic disease had recently wiped out in the colony” (Vol. 1, p. 256). It offers valuable observations on the indigenous peoples (including the San Bushmen, referred to as “Boushouanas” in the account, the Hottentots, etc.). A complete copy of the atlas comprising 18 plates, including a “Sketch of the City and Port of Rio de Janeiro,” two color botanical engravings, and various views, all engraved by P. F. Tardieu. Four of the plates relate to Truter’s account of Africa: a map of Southern Africa, “Woman of the Hottentot-Koral Tribe,” “Village of the Boushouanas,” and “Boushouanas, Man and Woman.” ” This edition was also published by Arthus-Bertrand. In the latter edition, the “Alphabetical Table of Contents for These Two Volumes”—which occupies pages 373 through 408 of the second volume—is generally missing, but it is included here. Spines faded, leather covers scuffed. The spine of the atlas is damaged with missing sections. Wormholes from page 381 to the end of the second volume, with some damage to the text.