[Carte du mont Sinaï] - Pierre Belon - Les Observations de plusieurs singularitez & choses memorables, trouvées en Grèce, Asie, Iudée, - 1555

BELON (Pierre)

The Observations of several singularities & memorable things, found in Greece, Asia, Judea, Egypt, Arabia, & other foreign lands.

Paris, at Guillaume Cavellat & Gilles Corrozet, 1555.

Three parts in one volume, quarto (21 x 14 cm), sprinkled calf (18th-century binding), spine with raised bands ornamented, speckled edges [6]-211-[1] leaves. Missing the first six leaves, including the title page, and the gathering r of the second book; two corners worn, loss to the tail-cap, beginning of a tear at the upper hinge near the tail, and occasional foxing. Overall good condition.

French edition of this fine work by the naturalist Pierre Belon (1517-1564). This edition, shared between Gilles Corrozet and Guillaume Cavellat, as do the editions of 1553 and 1554, includes a separate title for each part (one is missing for this copy in the first). It is illustrated with a folding map of Mount Sinai (out of text) which is often missing, and numerous woodcuts including plants, animals (among them a giraffe), birds, costumes, a view of Alexandria, and many fine decorated initial letters.

The work first appeared in 1553; it is divided into three books: the first concerns Belon’s voyage to Constantinople, the second tells of the author’s journey in Egypt and Syria, and the third deals with religion, the customs and manners of the Turks, and the journey of Achara in Asia Minor to Constantinople.

This work is the fruit of the voyage the author undertook to the Levant from 1547. After passing through Geneva and then Venice, he visited the Greek islands before arriving in Constantinople in August 1547. He set out again toward Egypt, then went up to Palestine, visited Jerusalem, crossed Damascus, Baalbek, Homs, Hama, Ma’arrat al-Nu’man, and stayed in Aleppo in December 1547. He returned to Constantinople in May 1548, passing through Antioch, Adana, and Bursa. He composed this work upon his return, noting the fauna and flora but also the customs and manners of the regions traversed.

Rare copy.