COPPIN, R.P. Jean.
Relation des voyages faits dans la Turquie, la Thebaïde, et la Barbarie. Contenant des avis politiques qui peuvent servir de lumières aux Rois & aux Souverains de la Chrétienté, pour garentir leurs etats des incursions des Turcs, & reprendre ceux qu'ils ont usurpé sur eux.
Lyon, les frères Bruyset, 1720. 4to. Vignette on title-page, interesting woodcut head- and tailpieces showing fruits and flowers, and 4 plates visualising the position of soldiers, divisions, army and artillery. Contemporary brown calf, gold-tooled spine in 6 compartments, red morocco label, lettered in gold. [6], 496, [6] pp.
€ 9,500
Second edition of a curious work, whose author Jean Coppin (ca. 1615-ca. 1690) tries to rouse the French people for a new crusade against the Ottoman Empire. It first appeared in 1686, under the title Bouclier de l' Europe....
The present edition uses the title of the first editions second part as its general title and uses the first editions general title as the title of the first chapter. The publishers apparently realized that Coppins idea to begin a new crusade wasn't really relevant anymore after 30 years, so they chose to emphasize his voyages.
Coppin travelled in 1638 to Egypt, where he stayed for eighteen months. He set off to return to France with a cargo of antiquities for sale but was raided by Mallorcan pirates. From 1642 to 1647 he was again in the Levant and visited Tunis and Syria, becoming consul at Damiette in 1644. After three years, he returned to Europe, with firm plans for a crusade, but the authorities were not interested at all. Subsequently he decided to publish his work, hoping to find the public more willing to listen to his plans.
In good condition. Cioranescu, p. 600; WorldCat (2 copies); cf. Gay, p. 31 (1st ed.); Blackmer 70 (1st ed.); not in Chadenat; Atabey.
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