BARATIER, Jean-Philippe

Travels of Rabbi Benjamin son of Jona of Tudele. In Europe, Asia & Africa, from Spain to China... Translated from the Hebrew & enriched with notes & historical dissertations. Amsterdam, at the expense of the company, 1734. 2 volumes in 1 large volume in-12 (150 x 93 mm) with an engraved portrait in frontispiece, 27 f.n.e., 247 pp. 5 f.n.e. for part I ; 1 f.n.e., 377 pp. 1 blank for part II. Speckled calf, spine ribbed and decorated, spotted edges (contemporary binding). Beautiful edition annotated by Baratier (1721-1740) on the travels of the rabbi of Tudelè (ca. 1130-1173). Important account concerning the description of Jewish communities of the time, as well as the geography and ethnography of the Middle Ages. His itinerary, described in Hebrew, translated into Latin and then into most of the major European languages, attracted the attention of Renaissance scholars in the 16th century , as well as French and English orientalists. His description of Western Asia preceded that of Marco Polo by a century. Good copy.