ARMENIA. IRAN. - Lot 240

ARMENIA. IRAN. MYR-DÂVOUD-ZADOUR DE MÉLIK SCHAHNAZAR ; CHAHAN DE CIRBIED (Jacques-M.), ed. and trans. Etat actuel de la Perse. Imprimé en persan et traduit en arménien et en françois, augmenté d'une notice historique sur ce Royaume et son souverain... Paris, Nepveu, 1817 (engraved title)-1818 (printed title). In-18, [2] ff, 360 pp, frontispiece, engraved title, 1 plate. Contemporary half-brown basane, smooth spine, gilt title and fillets, cold fleurons (headbands dulled, jaws rubbed; moderate browning, 1 corner missing from margin pp.115). Rare. Fine, scholarly trilingual first edition, with a large part of the volume printed in Armenian, and another in Persian. The illustrations include a frontispiece with a portrait of the author - ambassador to the King of Persia in 1816 - a fully engraved title illustrated with a vignette showing a Persian pendant with lion and sun, and an engraved plate showing Katchadour d'Hohannès, officer to the Royal Prince of Persia; all finely colored in the period. Both the author and Katchadour were Armenian and took part in the embassy sent to France in 1816. Provenance: Arnold Morel-Fatio (1813-1887), banker and numismatist (engraved bookplate).