190 - [Levant]. ARVIEUX. LABAT, J.-B., R.P.

[Levant]. ARVIEUX. LABAT, J.-B., R.P. Memoirs of the Chevalier d’Arvieux, the King’s Extraordinary Envoy to the Gate, Consul of Aleppo, Algiers, Tripoli, and other ports of the Levant. Paris: Charles Jean-Baptiste Delespine, 1735. 6 volumes, in-12. Contemporary marbled fawn sheepskin, ribbed spine, fawn title labels and volume numbers, decorated panels, marbled edges (defects on the bindings including scuffing, worn corners, and splits in the joints measuring a few centimeters; some foxing). Volume I. (3) ff., XVI-(2)-470 pp., (11) ff. Volume II. (2) ff., 521 pp., (14) Volume III. (1) ff., 558 pp., (9) ff. Volume IV. (1) ff., 572 pp., (12) ff. Volume V. (3) ff., 613-(1) pp., (7) ff. Volume VI. (3) ff., 615-(1) pp., (8) pp. A rare posthumous first edition of the memoirs of Chevalier Laurent d’Arvieux (1635–1702), published by Father Jean-Baptiste Labat based on the traveler’s manuscripts. The work constitutes a first-rate account of the political, commercial, and cultural life of the Levant in the 17th century. None of his stories or recollections were published during his lifetime. A friend of Antoine Galland and François Pétis de la Croix, Laurent d’Arvieux (1635–1702), a merchant from Marseille with a passion for Oriental studies, a scientist, and later a diplomat, became a central figure in French affairs in the Levant as well as a prominent figure in cultural life; he spent many years in the East, notably in Sidon, Constantinople, and Aleppo, where he carried out his duties. “An intriguer who became a Knight of the Order of Saint Lazarus and French consul, he was one of those men of humble origins whom the government of Louis XIV employed far away on subordinate or secret missions.” A single entry in the CCFr (BnF). An important account of the Levant in the 17th century. Provenance: modern bookplate by I. Teste on the front endpapers. Missing from Blackmer. Atabey, 39.