170 - HEINRICH PETERMANN: Reisen im Orient. Leipzig, 1865

HEINRICH PETERMANN: Reisen im Orient. Leipzig, 1865 Second (enlarged) edition. Two volumes in one. Large 8vo. Contemporary leather over boards, slightly rubbed. Complete: frontis, 408 p., 471 p., and the huge folding map (70x38 cm) of the traveler’s itinerary in Cyprus, Asia Minor, and the Middle East by Kiepert. Some light scattered water staining in a few places, mostly at the upper edges of the last pages, and very few spots; overall clean and in almost very good condition. Heinrich Petermann (1801-1876), a renowned German orientalist, wrote extensively on Armenian, Syrian, Arabic, and Hebrew culture. He travelled widely in the Levant, and in this journey visited Cyprus during the last years of Ottoman rule, recording a valuable account of the island. He then continued through Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia. The work is notable for its detailed ethnographic and geographical descriptions, coupled with Petermann’s analytical conclusions, a hallmark of the German scientific approach. Addressed to a scholarly audience and printed in limited numbers, this account is today considered rare.