LAFITAU, Joseph François. - Lot 64

LAFITAU, Joseph François. History of the Discoveries and Conquests of the Portuguese in the New World. Paris, Saugrain père; Jean Baptiste Coignard Fils, 1734. 4 volumes, in-12. 19th-century fawn half-basane with corners, spine ribbed and edged with gilt fillets, title and volume numbers in gilt, marbled edges (spine slightly faded, 2 small stains on the spines of vols. 1 and 4, corners rubbed, interior in good condition, missing the frontispiece). A fine copy. Illustrated with a world map tracing the voyages of Vasco da Gama, Cabral, and Magellan, and 14 fold-out plates, including views of Lisbon, Aden, Cochin, Goa, Cananor, Daman, Malacca, Mozambique... First in-12 edition, published one year after the in-4 edition. With the same text and the same engravings. Joseph-François Lafitau (1681–1746) studied the Portuguese conquests undertaken between 1412 and 1581 in Africa, India, China, Japan, and the Americas. A traveler himself, he lived for five years in Canada, where he studied the customs of the Iroquois. Upon his return to Paris, he became Procurator of the Missions of Canada. Sabin, 38591. Chadenat, 4903, “An important and highly regarded work, illustrated with plates and maps.”