Gedenkwaerdige gesantschappen der Oost-Indische Maatschappy in ‘t Vereenigde Nederland, aen de Kaisaren van Japan :

A$3,750 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Limited edition

Vervatende Wonderlijke voorvallen op de Togt der Nederlandtsche Gesanten: Beschryving Van de Dorpen, Sterkten, Steden, vereeuwde en nieuwe Oorlogs-daaden der Japanders. Amsterdam : Jacob Meurs, 1669. First edition. Folio, contemporary speckled calf, ruled in gilt, spine in compartments with raised bands, elaborate gilt tooling, contrasting morocco title label and lozenge bearing the date of publication, each lettered in gilt, general scuffing, one corner bent, expertly rebacked, frontispiece engraving (old tape repair verso), 6 preliminary leaves; large folding engraved map of the Tokaido road from Osacca (Osaka) to Iedo (Tokyo) (supplied, mounted on a stub, relined on Japanese tissue, the lower right corner corner replaced with expert manuscript facsimile), pp. 456; [16 index], map of the road from Nangasacqui (Nagasaki) to Iedo, folding double-page engraved views of Osaka, Miyako, Iedo, and Cangoxuma (Kagoshima); numerous double page views and smaller engraved scenes of Japan and Batavia, a very good copy. The first edition of Montanus detailed and extensive compilation of western accounts of Japan, largely compiled from sources in the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The first major non-Jesuit European work to deal exclusively with Japan, it would be published in English the following year. Exceedingly rare. The plates to this work represent a high-water mark in book illustrations of the 17th century. Apart from these, this book remains one of the most curious of the numero

• Binding: Hardcover

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