8vo. xii, 212 pp., [2] / 244 pp., [1] / 232 pp., xviii, [1], 4 aquatint plates including 2 frontispieces in volumes 2 & 3 by F. Hegi., full calf, spotted and rubbed, corners slightly bumped, with 2 coloured lettering signs and gold-stamped cover vignette, all edges red, foxing and some damp spotting throughout, “Premium copy for special diligence in poetry and eloquence” (cover vignette), Huber and Compagnie, St. Gallen, first edition, 1815.

Synopsis

Oriental travel description of the Thurgau textile producer and business traveller Johann Heinrich Mayr (1768 – 1839). Mayr had to take over the parental textile business at the age of 24; but his actual passion – travelling – did not detract from that. His particular preference was for the countries of the Near and Middle East, which earned him the nickname “Orient-Mayr” or “Lebanon-Mayr” during his lifetime. He recorded his impressions in six notebooks. These met with great interest in his circle of friends. At the urging of his readership fans and to preserve the original manuscript he publised his travel experiences under the title: Destinies of a Swiss during his trip to Jerusalem and Lebanon in 1815.
The published work comprises of six books, divided into three volumes
A second edition appeared in 1820 under the title Journey to Constantinople, Egypt, Jerusalem and Lebanon
Based on Mayr’s extensive collection of diaries, the monumental autobiography of the “travelling textile entrepreneur” was published in 2010 (Kurt Buenzli: Johann Heinrich Mayr, My Life Migration, Frauenfeld, Huber Verlag, 2010).
Outline: I: Journey from Vienna to Constantinople. II. Journey from Constantinople to Alexandria. III. Stay in Egypt, until you leave for Smyrna and Palestine. IV. Journey to Jerusalem, stay there and in Lebanon. V. Excursions from Lebanon to Balbeck and the Cedernwalde. VI. Trip from Salonichi back to Vienna. Included are four full-page copper with oriental urban and landscape motifs.
Bibliographic references:: Rohricht 345,6.Tobler 142. Ibrahim-Hilmy II, 26.