240 - [China]. SONNERAT, Pierre

[China]. SONNERAT, Pierre A Journey to the East Indies and China, Undertaken by Order of the King from 1774 to 1781. Paris: Published by the Author, Froulé, Nyon, and Barrois, 1782. 2 volumes, in-4 (25.5 x 19.5 cm), XV-317 pp., (1) p., 79/80 plates (numbered 1–80, excluding plate no. 5) + VIII pp., (4) ff., 298 pp., 59/60 plates (numbered 81–140, excluding plate no. 85), 2 maps. Marbled calfskin of the period, smooth spine with decorative embellishments, title and volume number labels in green and red morocco, gilt edges (foxing, soiling, and stains. Corner missing on p. 71, tear on p. 164, and small tear on p. 297; large brown water stain on pp. 300–315; tear on plate 57; old restoration on the spine of plate 61. A few numbering errors in the plates). First edition. Richly illustrated with 138 of 140 beautiful plates, including 20 double-page plates, featuring views, scenes of daily life, costumes, and natural history figures, engraved by Poisson, Milsan, Avril, Desmoulins, and Fessart after drawings by Sonnerat (including a map of Pondicherry). This famous account by the naturalist and explorer Pierre Sonnerat (1748–1814) contains extensive documentation on the regions of the Indian Ocean, from India and China to the islands of southern Africa, the Maldives, the Philippines, the Moluccas. The author discusses the customs, religion, sciences, and arts of the Indians, the Chinese, the Peguans, and the Malagasy, with observations on the Cape of Good Hope, the Islands of France and Bourbon, the Maldives, Ceylon, Malacca, the Philippines, and the Moluccas, as well as research on the natural history of these countries. The first volume is devoted to rituals and costumes; it contains 79/80 plates, including 15 double-page spreads. The second volume provides a detailed description of the fauna and flora; it contains 59/60 plates. Ex-libris in black ink, watercolor-washed, on the reverse of the first blank page of Volume 2. Cordier, Sinica, 2102. Nissen IVB, 886. Chadenat 180, 701, 5131.