Descripción

Small 4to. XXXIII, (1), 560 pp. With an engraved folding map of Asia Minor, 3 engraved plans (2 of which folding), and 6 lithographed plates. Contemporary full calf with giltstamped borders, spine and spine-labels. First edition, presentation copy inscribed by one of the authors to pastedown: "Captain Shiffner R.N. f[ro]m Capt. Mangles". - This early, privately published travelogue of the Middle East consists of six letters, the first and last of which are dated Cairo 1817 and Cyprus 1818 respectively. Irby and Mangles, both naval officers, assisted Giovanni Battista Belzoni in his excavation at the site of Abu Simbel, an independent account of which is given in the present work. From there, they travelled through the desert to Gaza, Jaffa, Beirut and Tripoli; thence to Baalbek and Antioch; and reached Aleppo, where they were among the earliest modern explorers of Syria. They continued to Palmyra, Damascus, down the Jordan valley, and through the Holy Land. - The engraved plans include a ground plan of the great temple of Ebsambal, a ground plan of Petra, and a portion of the Dead Sea. The lithograph plates, prepared by William Westall, James Duffield Harding, and others, include scenic views of the Nile and Aswan, as well as a botanical study of the Heshbon wheat. - Covers somewhat rubbed and spotted; rebacked preserving most of the original spine and green morocco labels. Corners bumped. Paper occasionally slightly foxed; the map with a small tear. From the library of Captain Henry Shiffner (b. 1789). - Atabey 606. Blackmer 860. Ibrahim Hilmy I, 325. Weber I, 123. OCLC 257597235.