GUIGNES (Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de). Chinese, French and Lati - Lot 91

GUIGNES (Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de). Chinese, French and Latin dictionary. Paris, Imprimerie impériale, 1813. Large in-folio, (3) f., LVI p., 1112 p., (1) f. errata, post. 19th c., smooth restored spine (sustained stain on last 7 f.). € First edition of this rare work, an editorial monument that marked the beginnings of French sinology. This unparalleled dictionary, composed between 1694 and 1699 by Father Basile de Gemona (1648-1704), a Franciscan missionary in China, was originally circulated in manuscript form. The technical complexity of such an editorial undertaking delayed publication for a long time. The necessary Chinese characters were woodcut between 1715 and 1742, under the direction of Etienne Fourmont. They became known as the "King's Boxwood", and were deposited in the King's library in 1745. It wasn't until 1802 that they found their way into the collections of the Imprimerie Impériale, and it was in 1808 that a new publishing project was launched, entrusted to Chrétien Louis Joseph de Guignes, former French consul in China. This copy is enhanced by marginal tabs with handwritten Chinese characters. (Cordier, Biblioteca sinica, III, 1589).