Voyage de M. Golovnin, Capitaine de Vaisseau de la Marine Impériale de Russie contenant le Récit de sa Captivité chez les Japonois pendant les Années 1811, 1812 et 1813, et ses Observations sur l’Empire du Japon.
Year: 1818
Edition: First edition
Publisher: Paris, Gide Fils
Category: Asia
Later half calf over marbled boards, 8vo.
Vol. I, pp. 4 (half title + title), vi, iii, (1), 5-396.
Vol. II, pp. 4 (half title + title), 447. Added is an extremely rare tract translated by Julius H. Klaproth titled “Fookoua Siriak, ou Traité sur l’origine des richesses au Japon.”, pp. 24 and published at Paris in 1828 by Schubart et Heideloff.
Gilt ruled spines with the titles in the second and fourth compartments, beautiful marbled endpapers and illustrated with a large folding map of the Kuril Islands.
Apparently missing the portrait of M. Golovnin. Some wear to extremities, corners bumped, joint of front board of vol. I split at the top, some browning to the first pages of the tract translated by M. Klaproth.
Vasilij Mikhailovich Golovnin was a Russian sailor, vice admiral and a member of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences. He made two voyages around the world and in 1811 Golovnin described and mapped the Kuril Islands. While exploring Kunashir Island he was taken prisoner by the Japanese, then spent two years in captivity. After his release he had this book published in 1816. In 1817/18 it was translated into German and English respectively. The German edition served as the basis for the translation into French still the same year. Of the three editions in the western languages the one in French by far is the rarest with only two records in RBH and none in ABPC.
Julius Heinrich Klaproth was a German linguist, orientalist and explorer. During a part of the early 19th century he was employed by the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg.
Chadenat 3761.
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