(India.) HOLWELL (John Zephaniah): Evénemens... - Lot 223 - Richard Maison de ventes

Lot 223
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150 - 280 EUR
(India.) HOLWELL (John Zephaniah): Evénemens... - Lot 223 - Richard Maison de ventes
(India.) HOLWELL (John Zephaniah): Evénemens historiques intéressants, relatifs aux provinces de Bengale, & à l'Empire de l'Indostan. Attached are the mythology, cosmogony, festivals & jeunes of the Gentoos who follow the Shaftah, & a dissertation on metempsychosis, the dogma of which is falsely attributed to Pythagoras. Work [...] translated from the English. Amsterdam, Arkstée & Merkus, and in Paris, H.C. de Hansy le Jeune, 1768. Two volumes. 12 by 20 cm. (III) to XXVIII-(4)-208 pages + 4 folding maps h.t. ; (4)-184 pages + 5 folding plates h.t. (complete). Contemporary full shagreened basane, nicely decorated smooth spines, red titles and goblets, filleted edges. Quality old restoration on the 1st plate of volume 1. False title of Volume 1 missing. Very discreet marginal wetness on the first third of the leaves of Volume 1. A fine copy despite these minor defects. First edition in French (E.O. in English: 1765-1771). Chadenat 5221. Holwell (1711-1798), a surgeon employed by the British East India Company, became acting governor of Bengal in 1760. He was also "the first European to study the ancient history of the Indian subcontinent." (B.N.F.). His work is a history of Indoustan and the provinces of Bengal, as well as an exposé of the dogmas of the Gentous. The work, illustrated with five plates of Indian idols and four maps, was a source for Raynal and his Histoire des deux Indes.
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