First collected French edition of de Bruyn's travels. Five large quarto volumes (each 8 x 9.75 inches) bound in period calf, which is slightly rubbed. Spine in 6 compartments, with gilt faded and some chipping to the heads and tails. Compete with 648, 565, 520, 522, and 498 pp. The excellent engraved illustrations include two allegorical frontispieces, 5 maps (of which 4 are folding) and 84 plates (of which 12 are folding), showing costumes, especially of Greek and Turkish women, views of monuments and historical sites, scenes of everyday life, fauna and flora. de Bruyn (1656-1726/7) was a Dutch artist and traveller, who undertook two major journeys to Asia. This is the first collected edition of de Bruyn's voyages to the Middle East, Russia, and the East Indies augmented by accounts not included in the earlier editions. On his first trip, from 1684 to 1693, de Bruyn visited Rome before traveling through the Ottoman territories of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. Illustrations include the first pictures of the interior of the great pyramid that were widely circulated in Europe, as well as views of Cairo, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. During his second tour, starting in 1701, de Bruyn travelled to Moscow, visited the Samoyeds in norther Russia, and sailed down the Volga to Astrakhan. Leaving Russia for Persia, de Bruyn made drawings of Isfahan and the ruins of Persepolis, destroyed by Alexander the Great, which were widely praised in Europe. From there, he continued to Java (Indonesia) which was then part of the Dutch east Indies, before ultimately returning to the Netherlands. His publications are regarded as some of the best illustrated works on the Levant.
