Description

8vo [23 x 15 cm]; 2 volumes, [xiv], iv, lvi, 192; xii, [193]-454, [i, errata], 16 [publisher's report] pp, 2 plates including frontis portrait of Valle, 2 folding maps, index. original blind-stamped cloth, gilt cover vignette, spine title lettering, bookplates removed from endpaper, small light blind-stamp on title page, spine label removed, spine ends frayed, interiors clean and very good. A picture of this book is available u Based on the author's letters of 1614-1626. Cox I, 273: 'The record of his wanderings is of the utmost value for they were the product of a mind well trained in observations and well stored with general knowledge'. 'The prince of all such travellers is Pietro della Valle, the most insatiate in curiosity, the most intelligent in apprehension, the fullest and most accurate in description' [Sir Henry Yule]. A plate shows the use of the Devil's quadrant, cross-staff, maps of Goa and author's routes. The editor provides a detailed historical introduction and biography. This is from the Hakluyt Society first series, scarce in any condition.