Chardin

1811 · B4638 — Paris: Le Normant c. 1811. A fine example of this work. Plates and text are in very good condition; generally clean and crisp. . Edition: New Edition Binding: Atlas volume rebacked tastefully in half calf saving the original marbled boards. Decorative red and gilt centerpiece on upper board with gilt title. <br><br>Ten 8vo 216x135mm text volumes with full brown cloth boards. With black calf labels with gilt text. Notes: Text is in French. This 1811 edition is based on Chardin’s classic account of life and society in Persia complete with new plates coincided with renewed French imperial ambitions aimed at rivaling the British possessions in India. Chardin a Frenchman was the son of a jeweller. He set out in company with a Lyon merchant named Raisin in 1665 for Persia and India. After a highly successful journey during which he had received the patronage of Shah Abbas II of Persia he returned to France in 1670. He set out again for Persia in August 1671. This second journey was much more adventurous than the first and did not reach Isfahan till June 1673. In Isfahan he was appointed the Shah's personal jeweler by Suleiman I. During this time he was allowed to engage in an extended tour through much of Persia. Through the course of this tour Chardain was able to study the culture government and religion in detail. After four years spent in research throughout Persia he again visited India and returned to Europe. In 1681 he settled in London where he was appointed jeweller to the court of Charles II. Sir John Chardin's narrative has received the highest praise from the most competent authorities for its fullness comprehensiveness and fidelity; and it furnished Montesquieu Rousseau Gibbon and Helvétius with most important material. Size: Folio 338x510mm. Illustration: The atlas volume is illustrated with 65 sheets bearing 86 engravings which include: a frontis portrait of Chardin two maps of which one is a folding map of Persia and the other a map of the Black Sea 9 additional folded sheets 18 double plate sheets 1 quadruple plate sheet plus single plate sheets. Volume: 11 vol.10 text-1 atlas References: Weber 381; Graesse II 13; Wilson 40 Category: Book Plate Books General; Book Asia Middle East Iran; Book Europe France; Le Normant hardcover