FORBIN

VOYAGE DANS LE LEVANT EB 1817 ET 1818

Par M. Le C.te De FORBIN

Paris, 1819

20 x 14 cm

Beautiful copy of this rare, captivating travel story recounting the author’s explorations in the Levant (region of the eastern Mediterranean) –

Appointed Director General of the Louvre Museum in 1816, Forbin obtained leave from Louis XVIII to finally realize his childhood dream, a trip to the Levant. Embarking on several ships, he first visited Milos, Athens, Constantinople, Ephesus, then finally arrived at Saint John of Acre, continuing to Jerusalem, Gaza, Damietta. He also visited Egypt and its main sites: Cairo, Luxor, Thebes, Rosetta and Alexandria. He acquired numerous antiquities which would enrich the collections of the Louvre –

Apart from the classic and picturesque narrative of the journey, this Journey to the Levant is characterized by its aesthetic and artistic vision; Forbin is above all a man of art, and he worked a lot in France for museums, rearranging the collections of the Louvre, creating the Luxembourg museum and that of Versailles –

In the Dictionary of Orientalists, Frédéric Hirzel writes: “The journey to the Levant of the Comte de Forbin remains one of the finest achievements of the Picturesque Travels of the early 19th century. Unlike some of its precursors, such as the Comte de Choiseul -Gouffier, the text here is a real story.” –

Mr. Le Cte De Forbin – Travel to the east in 1817 and 1818 – 1819 –

Very good condition of the binding, book in its red half-leather with corners with modern slipcase, spine with 4 raised bands decorated with golden boxes, golden titling –

Good interior condition, exterior borders of pages browned from page 381, vignette on title page, complete text except page 459 which describes plate 78 of the Atlas, marbled endpapers, handwritten lettering –