The Library of Stephen J. Farber

Small 4to (219 x 165 mm). Engraved allegorical title-page, large engraved foldout map (laid down), 30 engraved plates, of which 8 are folding. (Some browning and spotting to plates and text, title-pages trimmed close). Modern paneled calf antique, all edges stained red.

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of Ides' travels, which was first published in Dutch in 1704. Nicolas Witsen, the translator, added 30 engravings to the original edition. The map of Russia is important as "the best of all foreign maps which were based on the Russian original sources and which have exercised a great influence on the development of Russian cartography" (Imago Mundi III p.87).

Ides, a Dutch merchant, traveled across Siberia and into Peking on behalf of Peter the Great in 1692. The primary purpose of the expedition was to conclude further commercial agreements with the Chinese. Before the Tartars became masters of China, it was almost impossible for foreigners to find admittance to the Imperial Court. Kang-hi was desirous of preventing Russian encroachments upon his territories, and the Czar was anxious to establish a regular commerce with China. The expedition added considerable geographical knowledge to the little that was known about Manchuria and China and gave vivid descriptions of the people and places seen, including the Great Wall. Cordier, Sinica I, 2468; Cox I:331; Lust 519; Lowendahl 294.