Small Folio. [10], 540 pp., [10], full-page woodcut frontispiece portrait of the author, 34 woodcut illustrations (17 full-page), original calf binding rebacked with new spine, marbled end papers, book plate verso front cover, hand written note verso front endpaper, minor spotting, few wormholes on inner binding not affecting text, few errors in page numbering but a complete copy, otherwise copy in very good condition, divided in 3 parts, Part I: pages 1-137, Ottoman Empire and Persia / Part II: pages 139-328, India / Part III pages 329-540 Egypt, Greece, Italy, UK and Ireland, complete original copy, includes bibliographical references, Gervais Clousier, Paris, first edition, 1653.

Synopsis

RARE FIRST EDITION of a noted mid 17th century narrative of travels in Persia, India, Egypt and the Levant.
François de La Boullaye-Le Gouz, though forgotten nowadays, was the First Ambassador of King Louis the XIV to the Mughal Emperor Aurengzeb, Shah Jahan. Born in Anjou – and some say his family is of English descent- Le Gouz was a French aristocrat and extensive traveller, who made his first voyages to the Orient and India from 1644 to 1650. He published his observations and accounts of his voyages in Paris in 1653. The published French-language travelogue, enriched with first hand accounts of India, Persia, Greece, the Middle East, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, England, Ireland, and Italy, is considered one of the very first true travel books, in that it contains useful information for actual travellers. These accounts greatly influenced contemporary French and European Society. And made him famous in Paris, where he was appointed Louis’s Ambassador to the Mughal Emperor at the time of founding the new French Company. In 1664 he started his 3rd voyage from Paris accompanying de Lalain, ambassador to Persia and arrived to Isfahan in 1665. They obtained a Farman for trade in Persia, allowing the French free trade commissions…
He died in Ispahan, Iran in 1669.
…”In 1647, he visited Viterbo and met with Italian nobleman, Federico Capponi. When he returned to Italy in 1650, Federico had died so La Boullaye met with his relative, Cardinal Luigi Capponi and dedicated the first printed edition of his work to the Cardinal. The preface includes an illustration of the adventurer presented the work to Capponi..”
… “La Boull e name Ibrahim Bey in Persia, he eventually made his way to Goa via Greece and Turkey; on the return journey he visited Egypt . The illustrations i0nclude the castle of Amasia, a plan of the Seraglio and a view of Mt. Ararat, in addition to many cuts of natural history subjects and Indian wall paintings, as well as a portrait of the author in Oriental dress . There is a long bibliography of the works of earlier travellers at the beginning of the volume.” (Atabey).
… “The work is notable for its information on northern India and its relation to Persia, and for its inclusion of a summary of Ramayana” (Howego).
Bibliographical References: Brunet III:718; Atabey 645 (first edition); Howego L4.