Edifying and curious letters written from foreign missions 1780 - 1783

26 volumes. In. 12. Complete. Period calfskin, ornate ribbed back and golden edges

55 engraved plates out of text including 22 folding maps and 7 portraits.

Second edition. The first edition of the reports, collected by Fathers Le Gobien, Du Halde and Patouillet, was published in Paris in thirty-four parts, from 1702 to 1776. The present edition, enlarged and corrected by the Abbé de Querbeuf, is preferred to the original, as it is systematically organized by geographic region:

The letters of the Levant occupy volumes 1 to 5,

Those of America, volumes 6 to 9,

Those of India, volumes 10 to 15,

And China, volumes 16 to 24.

The last two volumes published in 1783 bring together unpublished letters and a History of Chinese Astronomy by Father Gaubil, missionary in Beijing.

The volumes for America (volumes 6 to 9) include:

• a letter from Father Marest (T.6-P.1) describing Iberville's expedition to Hudson Bay, 1694-95, where he captured Fort York

• the famous letter from Father F-M Piccolo, which contains the first descriptive account of California and is accompanied by the famous and important map of Kino which refuted the notion that California was an island. (see JCB). Bell J72. Tailpiece 930. Howes L-299

Beautiful copy in uniform binding. The top of the title pages has been cut off