Thomas Goüye (et autres) - Observations physiques et mathématiques pour servir à l'histoire naturelle - 1688

Rarest original edition of this exceptional collection of scientific observations sent from the Kingdom of Siam in the 17th century. Published under the reign of Louis XIV, this work testifies to the first intellectual and scientific exchanges between Europe and Southeast Asia, at the time of Jesuit missions and great Siamese embassies.

The work contains observations of astronomy, physics and natural history made in situ, true milestones in the birth of a ‘global’ science based on the exchange of information beyond European borders. It includes precise descriptions of the climate, fauna, and celestial phenomena observed in Siam, reflecting the encyclopedic ambition of the scholars of the Grand Siècle.

This scholarly dispatch constitutes a first-rate document for the history of science, but also for the history of relations between France and Siam, at a moment when Louis XIV sought to establish the cultural and diplomatic influence of the kingdom in the Orient.

Complete and very well preserved copy: sober and elegant period binding, interior in great freshness, with wide margins. Rare in such good condition.

A highly sought-after work by collectors of science, travel and 17th-century missions, rarely offered on the international market.

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Observations physiques et mathématiques pour servir à l'histoire naturelle et à la perfection de l'astronomie et de la géographie envoyées des Indes et de la Chine à l'Académie royale des sciences à Paris par les Pères Jésuites avec les réflexions de Mrs de l'Académie et les notes du P. Goüye de la Cie de Jésus

Paris, chez la veuve d'Edme Martin, 1688.

Edition originale.

Complet en 1 volume in-8, 278p. Complet de ses 3 planches dépliantes.

Reliure plein veau de l'époque en très bel état de conservation. Dos à nerfs à caissons ornés. Usures d'usage et manques aux coins et coiffes. Frottements aux plats. Charnière du premier plat fendue, mais reliure très solide néanmoins.

Intérieur bien préservé. Papier terni. Complet. Illustré de 3 planches dépliantes.

Rarissime exemplaire