Relation d'un voyage du Levant, fait par ordre du Roy, contenant l'histoire ancienne & moderne de plusieurs isles de l'archipel, de Constantinople, des Côtes de la Mer Noire, de l'Armenie, de la Georgie, des frontieres de Perse & de l'Asie Mineure. Avec les plans des villes & des lieux considerables; le génie, les meurs, le commerce & la religion des differens peuples qui les habitent; et l'explication des médailles & des monument Antiques. Enrichie de descriptions & de figures d'un grand nombre de plantes rares, de divers animaux; et de plusieurs observations touchant l'histoire naturelle.

Amsterdam, Au dépens de la Compagnie, 1718. 2 volumes in one 4° (253x202 mm). [14] ll., 188 pp; Title and 208 pp., [8] ll. of index. With 90 (4 folding) engraved plates and 52 text engravings. Contemporary vellum with title penned in ink on spine. Faint foxing in places.

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An invaluable source of information for all travelers to the Greek Archipelago, Anatolia, Armenia, and Georgia. A fine copy of the Amsterdam reprint of the Paris first edition. The leading French botanist Tournefort started out on his voyage to the Near East in the spring of 1700, accompanied by the draughtsman at the Jardin du Roy, Claude Aubriet (1651-1742), and the German physician Andreas von Gundelsheimer (1668-1715). He visited thirty-eight islands of the Greek archipelago, as well as Northern Anatolia, Pontus and Armenia, and reached Tiflis in Georgia. The text is in the form of letters which Pitton de Tournefort wrote to to the Minister of the Exterior Count de Pontchartain, who sponsored his mission. "The systematic way he organizes his information on topography, economy, administration, ethnic composition, customs and habits of everyday life shows how one can arrive at truth and knowledge through research, methodical study, classification and generalization ... He methodically narrates his visit to each island, and describes the locations as well as events that he witnessed and encounters with locals. He then continues with the islands history from ancient times to the current age, citing the corresponding myths, and comparing with the information provided by ancient coins. Subsequently, he writes on the islands administration and taxes, commerce, products and prices thereof. An entire chapter is dedicated to the Greek Church. Tournefort also writes on monasteries and churches, house architecture and caves. He also describes the customs, the dress and the occupations of the inhabitants ... He continues with his journey on the southern coast of the Black Sea to Armenia. The work closes with a short description of Smyrna and Ephesus" (Ioli Vingopoulou, in Travelogues, Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation). The travelogue is significant for its detailed botanical inventory alone. Written and illustrated on the spot, it contains rich information on the plants of the Greek islands and Anatolia, some of which were described for the first time. "He did not live to see the publication of his travel chronicle, which in the following three centuries became the basic manual to all travellers to these regions. Until today, researchers from numerous fields turn to Tournefort's text, as it remains an invaluable source of information" (Vingopoulou). Friedrich Adolph Lampe (1683-1729), German Pietist pastor, theologian and professor of dogmatics and Nicolaus Nonnen (1701-1772) professor of theology in Bremen, ms. entries on title page dated 1719 resp. 1730. - Bibliotheca amicorum Scientiis et Artibus, a private library founded by the Schaffhouse Theologian Johann Jakob Altorfer (1741-1829), bookplate engraved by H. R. Holzhalb after J. v. Ziegler (Wegmann 6239). Hage Chahine 4830; Pouillon 766; Lipperheide Kc 1; Hunt 444; Nissen, ZBI, 4154; Blackmer 1318; Broc, La géographie des philosophes (1975), S. 50ff.; Griep/Luber II, 1402.