First edition in French, of an account of the Jesuit mission in China, written by the Spanish Jesuit Diego de Pantoja (1571-1618). Pantoja was sent to Japan in 1596, but ended up in China, where he accompanied Matthieu Ricci (1552-1610), establishing the Jesuit mission in Beijing. "In 1602 Pantoja wrote an account of the progress of the Chinese mission in a letter from Peking to Luis de Guzman, the provincial of Toledo. It was to become one of the most popular and widely read of the Jesuit letterbooks: an extract was printed by Guerreiro in 1603, then it was published in full at Seville in 1605. Apart from detailing the progress of Ricci's expedition, it also provides some of the most accurate information on China to be found in the first half of the seventeenth century" (Howgego).
With a small blank slip on the title-page covering an owner's inscription. Title-page with a restoration in the outer margin, just touching the woodcut device, an inkstain on the opening flyleaf and the title-page and some minor browning. A very good copy. De Backer & Sommervogel VI, col. 173; Howgego, to 1800, P15.