[Levant] Maundrell, H. Reize van Aleppo naar Jeruzalem

Gedaan tegen Paaschen, des Jaars 1698. Uit het Engelsch vertaalt door G. Muntendam. Utr., W. van Poolsum, 1705, (6),188p., engr. frontisp. by J. Goeree, 9 (fold.) engr. plates, cont. hvellum w. manuscript paper letterpiece on spine, sm. 4to. One blank outer corner of title-p. restored, occas. foxing and staining. A good copy.

The first Dutch edition. Cox I, p.219; Atabey 784; Henze p.400-401: "Er war ein nuchterner, scharfer Beobachter von klassischer Bildung, sein kurzes Reisetagebuch eine der zuverlässigsten Quellen für die Kenntnis des durchgezogenen Gebiets bis tief ins 19. Jahrhundert hinein." See online the article on Maundrell by Butlin, in Oxford Dictianary of National Biography: "Maundrell's account is quite different from that of Sandys, and is a major work in its owns right, giving detailed descriptions of the life and landscapes of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, including the agricultural practices of the regions and places encountered, in addition to descriptions of places of religious significance. The factual accounts of the relict features of the ancient worlds, are of interest and value, and they are accompanied by careful measurements and plans of major sites such as Baalbek." The first English edition of the text based on the author's diary appeared posthumously in 1703 (Maundrell died in Aleppo in 1701). A second Dutch edition appeared in 1713, the work was also published as part of F. Halma, Kanäan en d'omleggende landen (...) (1717).