Voyage en divers États d'Europe et d'Asie entrepris pour découvrir un nouveau chemin à la Chine

title+[pictorial plate]+xvii+folding map+406+xxiv pages with engraved initials and vignettes, and three additional plates and index. Royal octavo (9 3/4" x 7 1/2") bound in full leather with five raised bands and lettering in gilt and decorative vignettes. First edition.

Philippe Avril was a Jesuit explorer of the Far East and professor of philosophy and mathematics at Paris when he was dispatched to the Jesuit missions of China. He was summoned by the Jesuit missions and sent as a Jesuit to the missions in China. Following the instructions of Ferdinand Verbiest, another Jesuit, then at Peking suggested that he attempted an overland journey which he ended up traveling for six years through Kurdistan, Armenia, Astrakhan, Persia, and other countries of eastern Asia arriving at Moscow. He now traveled to Grodno in Poland, where he renewed an acquaintance with Count de Syri, who had formerly befriended him at Astrakham. The count at the suggestion of Avril, applied ot the French government for the appointment of ambassador from the King of France to the Emperor of China. He succeed in obtaining the appointment and it was arranged that Avril should accompany him. They set out to Moscow together. An accident detained Avril and the count arrived at Moscow days before his companion. On the arrival of Avril, he received the intelligence that the Russian authorities and compelled the count to proceed and was refused permission to over take him. Avril proceeded to Warsaw, and through the assistance of Prince Jablonowksi to reach Constantinople by way of Moldavia. Here he was seized with spitting of blood and he found himself compelled to relinquish his mission and returned to France. He landed at Toulon in 1690 and published an account of his travels. Avril's journal and writings provide a significant amount of useful material for modern historians and demographers.

Condition:

Corners bumped and rubbed, lacking 3E4 (blank leaf between the end of the main text and start of the Table de Metiers), occasional toning, ink inscription to title, spine ends and raised spine rubbed, some spotting to leather else a good to very good copy.