12mo. French & some Greek text, Volume I. [12], 301 pp., steel engraved title page, 8 double page engraved plates of coins at beginning, 40 engraved plates of which 5 are on double page and 1 folding (torn without loss of text), in text illustrations / Volume II: pages 307-607, [8 Table of Contents], 35 engraved plates of which 3 are folding and 3 on double page, 1 folding map (slightly torn), original binding in brown calf, edges rubbed, marbled edges, wear & tear, light staining on some pages, occasional yellowing, ink initials on front end-paper, copy in general good condition otherwise, Jean Wolters, Amsterdam, first French edition, 1689.

Synopsis

The original French edition of one of the most important travel accounts in the Levant and the first description of Athens . Famous report of the voyage in Italy, Constantinople , Asia Minor , and Athens the noble English collector George Wheler in the years 1675 and 1676 along with the erudite doctor Lyons Jacob Spon did.
This is one of the most important accounts of travels in the Levant, and the first description of Athens which was systematic, detailed, and trustworthy. as Laborde says, “la publication du voyage de Spon fut un evenement litteraire”. Chateaubriand praised the work: “tout le monde connait le merite de cet ouvrage, ou l’art et l’antiquite sont traites avec une critique jusqu’alors ignoree”. Spon and Wheler met in Italy in 1675; they travelled together with Francis Vernon to Zakynthos, where the two groups separated. Spon and Wheler continued by sea to Constantinople, and Vernon travelled overland. The great merit of Spon’s work is due to its combination of a careful and knowledgeable interest in classical antiquity with an accurate observation of men, manners and topography in Modern Greece. The whole of volume II is devoted to Greece and includes a glossary of modern Greek words and phrases with instructions on pronunciation. Spon’s interest in Greece was long standing. He had already published Babin’s description of Athen’s, which had been communicated to him by the Abbe Pecoil of Lyon, with his own notes and preface.
Bibliographic references: Blackmer 1787; Weber 406; Laborde II, pp 1-27.