Manuscript letter written by Abbé Huc, sent from Macau in November 1846, addressed to his parents in Toulouse and reporting on his just-completed epic journey through Tartary and Tibet.

A$20,000 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Macao, 1er. Novembre 1846 . Entire letter, manuscript in ink on a single folio sheet of Chinese paper, folded to form 4 pages, written on 3½ pages; the panel on the outer side addressed to Monsieur Huc, Rue Pargaminières 73, Toulouse, Haute-Garonne , circular postal markings in black Paris 8 Janv. 47 and Toulouse 11 Janv. 47 ; the letter commences Mes chers parents and is signed at the foot Je vous embrasse tous filialement et fraternellement, É. Huc ; remnants of red wax seal; a couple of small closed tears at edges of the folds (no loss of text), otherwise complete, clean and legible. A rare and important letter by the missionary and traveller Abbé Huc, containing what is surely the earliest written account of his extraordinary journey through Tartary and Tibet in 1844-46. The French Vincentian missionary father Évariste Régis Huc (1813-1860), often referred to simply as Abbé Huc, had departed from Dolon Nor in Inner Mongolia in August 1844 with the intention of crossing into Tibet to proselytise the indigenous population and study their culture, and then travelling on to India via Sikkim. He was accompanied by Father Joseph Gabet, a fellow Vincentian. Their journey would be a perilous one. Disguised as lamas, the two men traversed the Ordos Desert, reaching the border of the Tibetan kingdom early in 1845. The pair then spent eight months studying the Tibetan language and Buddhist scriptures at the Kumbum lamasery, before joining a Tibetan embassy returning from Peking whic

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.