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GILLES, P[ierre] [1490-1555].. De Bosporo Thracio Lib. III.

24mo. pp. 379, [4]index. engraved title. woodcut headpiece & initials. contemporary vellum over bds. (library rubberstamp on front flyleaf & final blank of third title). Second (First Elzevier) Edition, First Issue. Willems 366. Rahir 347. Blackmer 686. cfCox I pp. 222-23. [BOUND WITH:] GILLES, P[ierre]. De Constantinopoleos Topographia lib. IV. 24mo. pp. 422, [6]index, [2 blank leaves]. engraved title. woodcut ornaments & initials. Leyden: [Bonaventure & Abraham] Elzevier, 1632. Third (Second Elzevier) Edition. Willems 367. Rahir 353. Blackmer 687. cfCox I pp. 222-23. [BOUND WITH:] REGNI Chinensis descriptio Ex Variis Authoribus. 24mo. pp. 4 p.l., 365, [9]index, [blank leaf]. engraved title. 2 full-page woodcuts. woodcut ornaments & initials. Leyden: [Bonaventure & Abraham] Elzevier, 1639. First Edition. Willems 486. Rahir 482. Lust 69. Cordier 23. First published in 1561 and 1562, Gilles' De Bosporo Thracio and its companion volume De Topographia Constantinopoleos "are among the earliest works to describe Constantinople and the Thracian Bosphorus. They provided authentic and reliable sources of information for early travellers.Gilles accompanied d'Aramon's embassy to the Porte in 1547; he was charged with searching for Greek manuscripts and antiquities on behalf of Francis I. During his travels he met André Thevet and they toured Asia Minor together. Gilles' books are not journals of his travels but accounts of the antiquities and archaeology of the places he visited.his works.were edited and published posthumously by his nephew Antoine Gilles.". (Blackmer) The third work, on China, is composed of extracts from Nicolas Trigault's De De Regno Chinae, Marco Polo, and other sources.

$1500 USD