[CHOISY (François-Timoléon de). Journal du voyage de Siam fa - Lot 38

[CHOISY (François-Timoléon de). Journal du voyage de Siam fait en M. DC. LXXXV. and M. DC. LXXXVI. Par M. L. D. C. Paris, S. Mabre-Cramoisy, 1687. In-4, (4)-416 p., contemporary brown calf, ribbed spine, expertly restored (rubbing, marginal wetness on q. f., stain on title and p. 326). Uncommon first edition of this important account by the abbe' de Choisy (1644-1724) who "left, to be somewhat forgotten, with the embassy sent by Louis XIV to the King of Siam. He had promised his friend Dangeau to write him a report: he kept his word. The turn is banter, the mood jovial, the spirit mocking and skeptical. " (Bourgeois). This account offers invaluable information, particularly on customs, religious ceremonies, mores, descriptions of pagodas with gilded idols and hunting. Modern handwritten bookplates (1953) in ink and pencil. (Cordier, Indosinica, 941; Bourgeois et Andre', Sources, I, 519; Chadenat, 2582: "Relation tre`s curieuse, devenue rare".