TACHARD (Guy). Voyage de Siam des pères jesuites envoyés par - Lot 220

TACHARD (Guy). Voyage de Siam des pères jesuites envoyés par le roy, aux Indes & à la Chine. Amsterdam, Pierre Mortier, 1687. In-12, (10)-227-(12) p., contemporary marbled havana calf, ornate ribbed spine, red title page, red edges (defects including tear to tail cap, wetness, repairs with adhesive on several plates, one with lacuna; frontispiece and 3 plates lacking). First in-12 edition after the original in-4° format in 1686. Illustrated work, this copy includes 1 header vignette, 27 engraved plates (out of 30) including 3 folding maps, the frontispiece title is missing. Numerous animal figures, including rhinoceros, varan, elephant, zebra and chameleon. First voyage of the Jesuit Guy Tachard (1651-1712), appointed in 1685 to the embassy of Alexandre de Chaumont, sent by Louis XIV to the King of Siam Ramathibodi III, known as Narai the Great. His account offers invaluable insights into Siam, Cochinchina and Tonkin, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Bantam, Batavia) and the reception of the Jesuits by the Dutch at the Cape of Good Hope. (Cordier, Bibl. Indosinica, 947; De Backer-Sommervogel, VII, 1802).