Carsten Niebuhr - Description de l’Arabie - 1774

Description de l’Arabie, faite sur des observations propres et des avis recueillis dans les lieux mêmes.

Amsterdam, S. J. Baalde; Utrecht, J. van Schoonhoven, 1774.

1 quarto volume (252 x 200), marbled glossy calfskin (period binding), decorated ribbed spine with raised bands, red morocco title label, all edges red, xlii-372-[18] pages (complete). Slightly rubbed, brownished bits on a board. Good condition.

Second edition of the French translation, given by Ferdinand-Louis Mourier. The first edition ever seen
Copenhagen in 1773, a year after the original German.

This edition is decorated with 25 plates representing costumes, inscriptions, extracts from the Koran (folders), coins, tools, maps (folders), mosques, etc., engraved by Martin and Defehrt, after Baurenfeind for drawings of natural productions, views and costumes. It also contains an engraved title and a folded genealogical picture.

Good copy.