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297 - [TRAVEL]. MONCONYS (Balthasar de). Journal of the travels of…
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Estimate €500 - €600
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Description
[TRAVEL]. MONCONYS (Balthasar de). Journal of the travels of Monsieur de Monconys, …, illustrated with numerous figures. A rare account of 17th-century travels across Europe, Egypt, Syria and Constantinople by a Lyon native with a passion for physics, mathematics and alchemy. It includes, amongst other things, the finest description of the interior of the Pyramids of Giza available at the time. Paris, published by Pierre Delaulne, 1695. Five volumes in -12 (164 x 104 mm). Half-basane with corners, ribbed spine decorated with two medallions and panels with small gilt ironwork. Binding from the late 18th century. Frontispiece, 23 unpaginated leaves, 538 pp., 15 plates; 3 unpaginated leaves, 374 pp., 14 plates; 1 unpaginated leaf, 346 pp., 10 plates; 1 unpaginated folio, 534 pp., 5 plates; 4 unpaginated folios, 546 pp., tables, 7 plates. Leather worn and scuffed, caps slightly worn away, cracks starting at the joints. Paper browned, slight foxing. First in-12 edition, expanded by some twenty plates compared to the original edition (3 vols., in-1665-6, 30 plates). The interesting illustrations include a frontispiece and 51 intaglio-engraved plates depicting various devices, machines, diagrams and views. A diplomat and advisor to the Crown, educated by the Jesuits in Lyon and later in Salamanca, Balthasar de Monconys (1611–1665) devoted a significant part of his life to scholarly travel. In 1645, he undertook a grand journey to the East. Arriving in Alexandria on 1 January 1647, he explored Egypt at length: Cairo, Saqqara, the Sinai. A methodical observer, he measured monuments and distances, providing one of the most precise descriptions of his time of the interior of the Great Pyramid. At Saqqara, he described the gallery of mummies, statues and sarcophagi. He left Egypt on 13 October 1647 for Jaffa and continued his journey through Syria, Persia and Constantinople, and Anatolia until his return to Europe in 1649. Later, in 1663, he travelled to England, the Netherlands and Germany, where he met the most prominent scholars. The travel accounts are followed by his Treatise on Algebra, Letters and, finally, his Secrets and recipes, found among his papers after his death. Monconys’s travel accounts were only published posthumously by his son, first in Lyon in 3 vols. In-4 (1665–6), and have seen several editions: Paris 1677, Lyon 1678, and Paris, 1695, as well as a German translation from 1697. Provenance: ‘Sophie Potocka’ with handwritten ex-libris on the title pages. Countess Sophie Potocka (1760–1822) was famous in her day for her beauty and her adventurous life (‘La Belle Phanariote’). A rare copy of the in-12 edition.
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About the sale Fine antique and collectible books, manuscripts and modern illustrated works
Auction location
Auction time 06/29/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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