A description of the East, and Some other Countries by Richard Pococke. Printed by W. Bowyer, London, 1743-1745. Two volumes. English.
The English anthropologist and bishop Richard Pococke (1704-1765) traveled to the Near East in 1737-1741. These two volumes record this journey. The first volume is dedicated to Egypt and the second volume to Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and other places.
The two volumes include 177 engravings (74 plates in the first volume and 103 plates in the second. Missing one plate). Among the engravings: maps (a folding map of Palestine and Syria, a folding map of Jerusalem, and many others), plans, illustrations of important sites, illustrations of local vegetation, and more. At the opening of each volume appears an engraved plate with a printed dedication by the author.
Vol. 1: [1] leaf, VI, [8], 310 pp (last pages are bound out of order) + [75] plates. One engraved plate is missing (no. 64). Vol. 2: XI, [1], 268, VII, [1], 308 pp + [104] plates. 40.5 cm. Good condition. Ink-stamps. Some stains. Small tears at margins of some leaves (mainly to first and last leaves of both volumes). New bindings and endpapers.