3432
Pietro della Valle
Eines vornehmen Römischen Patritii Reiß-Beschreibung in unterschiedliche Theile der Welt/ Nemlich in Türkey / Egypten / Palestina / Persien / Ost-Indien und andere weit entlegene Landschafften [...] Erstlich von dem Authore selbst / der diese Reisen gethan / in Italianischer Sprach beschrieben / und in vier- und fünfftzig Send-Schreiben in vier Theile verfasset [...]. Four parts in one vol. Geneva, Johann Hermann Widerhold, 1674. With an engraved frontispiece by I.I. Thourneyser after a draft by T. Blanchet, engraved portraits of the author and of his wife Sitti Maani Gioerida della Valle, numerous copper plates, woodcut title vignettes and ornamental initials. First part 218 p., second part 236 p., third part 244 p., fourth part 231 p. Not collated. Contemporary vellum with embossed borders.
H 35, W 23,5 cm.
Pietro della Valle (1586 - 1652), who came from an old Roman noble family, left the Eternal City behind in 1614 and travelled through Asia Minor, Syria, the Holy Land, Egypt and Persia until his return in 1624, reaching as far as India. During this time, he learned the languages of the countries he visited, studied the customs of their inhabitants, dealt with the respective geographical peculiarities, described as one of the first Europeans the Mesopotamian cuneiform writing, which he had seen in the ruins of Persepolis, and probably introduced the Angora cat to Europe, which is still valued as a pet today. Beyond an objective-rational urge to explore, he was virtually enchanted by the magical and mysterious mysticism and fairy-tale beauty of the Orient and incorporated this fascination into his travelogue in the form of vivid anecdotes of wondrous incidents. This German-language edition from 1674 is provided with numerous illustrations by Johann Jakob Thurneysser (1636 - 1718), which depict a wide variety of sometimes curious facts and occurrences, such as the discovery of an Egyptian mummy in Sakkara (part one, pp. 104/105).
Provenance: Library of the last Prince-Bishop of Basel Franz Xaver von Neveu (1749 - 1828); after his death it became private property of the family of Neveu, Durbach.
Literature: VD17 39:135562X; VD17 39:135565V; VD17 39:135569A; VD17 39:135571W.

Condition report