Levant.- Pococke (Richard) A Description of the East, and some other

Levant.- Pococke (Richard) A Description of the East, and some other Countries, 2 parts only (of 3) comprising vol. 1 and vol. 2 part 1, engraved title vignettes, engraved dedication to vol. 2, 111 engraved plates and plans (some folding) only, scattered spotting and staining, near contemporary calf, gilt inner dentelles, rubbed, bumping to corners and extremities, [Atabey 965; Blackmer 1323], folio, for the Author, 1743-45. *** One of the most important eighteenth-century accounts of the Near East, sweeping in scope and richly illustrated with drawings, plans, and maps, depicting sites from Egypt, the Holy Land, Crete, Cyprus, and Turkey. Richard Pococke (1704-1765) combined a successful ecclesiastical career in the Church of Ireland with a lust for travel. He went on two Grand Tours, the first to France and Italy in 1733-4, the second from 1737 to 1741 being the journey described in this work. He visited the Near East, in particular Egypt to which the entire first volume is dedicated, going through Palestine, Syria, and Iraq, before returning through Greece and the Alps, making him also one of the first Alpine travellers. Among other things, he was one of the few European travellers to give an account of the origins of the medieval Arabic document, the Achtiname of Muhammad, which claims that Muhammad had personally confirmed a grant of protection and other privileges to the monks of Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt.

Estimate:$401.15

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