The Voyages & Travels of the Ambassadors sent by Frederick Duke of Holstein, to the Great Duke of Muscovy, and the King of Persia. Begun in the year M.DC.XXXIII. and finish’d in M.DC.XXXIX. Containing a compleat History of Muscovy, Tartary, Persia, and other adjacent Countries. With several Publick Transactions reaching neer the Present Times; in VII Books. Whereto are added the Travels of John Albert de Mandelslo, (a Gentleman belonging to the Embassy) from Persia, into the East-Indies… in III Books.
London: Thomas Dring, John Starkey. 1662. Binding: Full speckled calf boards, rebacked preserving original spine. Spine with 5 raised bands, gilt-lettered black morocco label in second compartment. All edges red. , Notes: Ex-Libris; bookplate of Edward Shipperdsson and another book ticket mounted to front pastedown. Ownership of John Parkhurst, dated 1772, inked to flyleaf, along with notations and page references to the book’s contents written below.
Adam Olearius (c.1599-1671) was a German scholar, mathematician, geographer and librarian. He became secretary to the ambassador sent by Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, to the Shah of Safavid (Iran), and published two books about the events and observations during his travels.
He later became court official to Frederick III who was planning to establish economic ties between northern Germany and Russia. As a result, in 1633 he was appointed secretary to the ambassadors Philipp Crusius, jurisconsult, and Otto Bruggemann, a merchant from Hamburg, sent by the duke to Muscovy and Persia in the hope of making arrangements by which his newly founded city of Friedrichstadt should become the terminus of an overland silk-trade.
His second Persian journey was again led by Brüggemann and Crusius, with Olearius once more as secretary. They were accompanied by, among others, the traveller Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo and the poet and physician Paul Fleming. The delegation left Altona on 22 October 1635, embarked at Travemünde, reached Moscow on 29 March 1636, and continued on 30 June via Balakhna near Nizhniy Novgorod, to Volga in a boat specially built for this purpose by the Lübeck skippers who had been brought along. On 10 October, they attempted to cross the Caspian Sea in a self-built vessel at Astrakhan but were shipwrecked in Niyazabad (near modern Xaçmaz and Derbent) on 14 November 1636. The land journey resumed on 22 December. They reached Shamakhi, the capital of Shirvan province, on 30 December and remained there until 27 March 1637.
PLATES
1. frontis
2. 40, map 2 page (Liefland)
3. 103, portrait federowitz
4. 127 in text, characters of language
5. 356, portrait king of persia
6. 388 map 2 page kilan
MENDELSLO
7. 54, portrait great mogul
LACKING
1. 60, map of Muscovy
2. 150, map of river wolga
3. 195, map of Persia
mendelslo
4. 18, map of east indies
5. 216, map of china
, Size: Quarto (295 x 200 mm), Illustration: Nice example. Illustrated with 7 plates, including 2 double-page maps of Liesland [Livonia] and Kilan, and an in-text engraving of the characters of the Muscovian language. Lacking 5 plates as per index of illustrations. Mispaginations: [Voyages] pg. 53 as 43, 54 as 45, [Mendelslo] 135 as 136, 136 as 138, 262 as 254, 263 as 254; jump from pg. 168 to 171. , Pages: (P) Blank (5). Frontispiece. 1st title. 2nd title. Blank. Translator’s dedication (2). Note to the reader (4). Contents (15). Catalogue of illustrations. Pp. 1-424. [Mandelslo] Title. Blank. Dedication (2). Pp. 1-287. Contents (10). Blank. , Category: Book Russia; Book Asia Middle East Iran;. Tear near gutter at fol. M, affecting text. Dampstain at gutters affecting last leaves. Item #B7309
Price: $475.00