189 - [MURALT, Béat-Louis de]. Letters on the English and the French and on Travel.

[MURALT, Béat-Louis de]. Letters on the English and the French and on Travel. No place, no publisher, 1725. In-12 (18.5 x 11.5 cm), tan calfskin, ribbed spine decorated with floral and gilded panels. Coat of arms (scraped off) in the center of the covers. Red edges. 6f. n. ch. 543 pp. Scuffing on the binding; paper missing from the lower endpaper. First edition. One of the earliest comparative studies of English and French customs and practices, predating even Voltaire’s famous “Philosophical Letters” (1734). The Swiss author and writer Béat-Louis de Muralt, a former officer in the French army, traveled to England and wrote this book in response to France’s literary and moral hegemony. The work is divided into twelve letters (six on England and six on France). A fine copy in a period binding.