144 - [TRAVEL]. LA HARPE (Jean-François de). A BRIEF HISTORY OF TRAVEL, containing the most remarkable, useful, and well-documented facts about the countries explored by travelers; the customs of the inhabitants, religion, traditions, arts and sciences, commerce, and manufacturing; enriched with maps and illustrations. Paris, Hôtel de Thou, Laporte [later] Moutardier, 1780–1801. Thirty-two volumes, in-8, in marbled fawn calfskin, spined with raised bands adorned with fleurons and gilt metalwork, title and volume number labels in red or garnet morocco, gilt roulette at the foot, gilt filleted edges and caps, marbled edges (contemporary binding). Flecks of foxing and browning on some leaves; minimal worm damage (1 to 3 pinholes) in the upper right corner of vol. X, without damage to the text or engravings; one upper cap worn down, small loss on two upper caps, small loss of leather at the bottom of vol. XXIII, and blunt corners. AN IMPORTANT COMPILATION OF JOURNEYS AND DISCOVERIES, drawn from Abbé Prévost’s *Histoire générale des voyages* and expanded with more recent accounts. The set includes the 21 volumes published in 1780, the 2 volumes devoted to Cook’s third voyage, published in 1786, and the 9 volumes of supplements published through 1801, with the general table of contents in the last volume. The supplements were compiled by Delpuech-Comeiras. The accounts cover, in particular, Africa, Asia, the Americas, the polar regions, and voyages around the world. They bring together a wealth of documentation on the peoples, their customs, their religions, their trade, and their natural history. The edition is illustrated with 88 PLATES, out of text, engraved on copper, including several fold-out plates and a fold-out MAP of “the northern part of the South Sea, bounded by California, the Sandwich Islands, Japan, and the Bering Strait” at the beginning of volume 22. Volumes 24 through 32 were bound WITHOUT the 13 plates and 4 maps described by Monglond. WITHOUT the in-4 ATLAS containing 74 maps (including 17 fold-out maps). A BEAUTIFUL COPY, preserved in its period binding of RARE FRESHNESS: the gilding dies and the title and volume number labels change starting with Volume 22, but the set nevertheless remains consistent and harmonious. ¶ Sabin, 38632: “Contains all the early voyages to America” – Chadenat, 6667 – Brunet, III-771 – Monglond, V, 643 – Boucher de La Richarderie, I, 97.