MISSON, Maximilien

New journey to Italy with a memorandum containing useful advice for those who wish to make the same journey. Fourth edition, larger and more correct The Hague, H. van Bulderen, 1702. 3 vols. in-12, full morocco, triple fillet on the boards, ornate spines, ornate endpapers, interior roulette. T1: frontispiece, [27], 339 pp, table. T2: 356 pages, table. T3: 414 pp, table. Off-text plates. A good copy, complete with its 75 plates (including the frontispiece), 39 of which are folding. "In 1687-1688, Maximilien Misson undertook a journey through Europe. He published his impressions in the work entitled Le nouveau voyage d'Italie (1691), written in epistolary form, which depicts the architectural features of the cities he visited, local customs, people's clothing, and even the tax systems. This work in three volumes, which contains 41 letters, is not limited to Italy, but also extends to Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. It has been reprinted several times and translated into English, German and Dutch. The work differs from other writings on Italy of the time by its critical approach; one does not find the usual praise that the author often finds exaggerated. Misson sets himself the goal [of faithful representation] of what seems to him worthy of attention; he offers us several detailed descriptions of churches, libraries, arsenals, castles, Treasures and cabinets of curiosities." Elena Stranskaya, http://expo-recits-de-voyage.edel.univ-poitiers.fr/lumieres/cabinet-de-curiosite-nouveau-voyage-d-italie.html