198 - [The Levant]. MAUNDRELL, Henri.

[The Levant]. MAUNDRELL, Henri. Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, at Easter in the year 1697. Printed in Orléans and sold in Paris by Pierre Ribou, 1706. In-12, (7) leaves including the frontispiece, 252 pp., 9 plates, 5 of which are fold-outs. Contemporary speckled fawn sheepskin, ribbed spine decorated with gilded floral panels, title label, gilt title (binding worn; some plates have cracks on the reverse that have been restored; small loss on the lower margin of the view of Baalbek; very slight foxing on some leaves; a few creased margins toward the end of the volume). First French edition, illustrated with an engraved frontispiece title page featuring a small map of Phoenicia and 9 black-and-white engraved plates, including five fold-outs, depicting views of Palmyra, Baalbek, and Mount Carmel. Considered ingeniously written, this travelogue of the Holy Land contains the first description of Baalbek (now in Lebanon) provided by an English traveler. Long neglected by Western travelers, Baalbek and Palmyra are the subject of precise descriptions here, accompanied by illustrations of remarkable accuracy. L. Devémy’s bookplate at the end. Atabey, II, 784. Blackmer, 214.