Avril Philippe. A Journey Through Various States of Europe and Asia, Undertaken to Discover a New Route to China [...] Paris 1692.

-The Route to China Through the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and Moldova -

Avril Philippe. Voyage en divers etats d’Europe et d’Asie, entrepris pour découvrir un nouveau chemin à la Chine [...] Paris 1692. Published by Claude Barbin, Jean Boudot, Georges and Louis Josse, 4º, n.p. [20], 406, [24], portrait 1 (copperplate engraving), map 1 (fold-out copperplate engraving), plate of illustrations 3 (copperplate engravings), vignettes (copperplate engravings), initials, end-pieces (woodcuts), period binding, leather with embossing and gilding, speckled page edges.

E.XII, 315. A fascinating work by Philippe Avril (1654–1698?), a French Jesuit, missionary, and traveler. It is an account of the author’s journey, which was intended to provide arguments in support of his idea that overland routes to China—especially those through Siberia and Central Asia—were faster and safer than sea voyages, during which most of the missionaries sent there were believed to have perished. Avril undertook his travels between 1685 and 1690, journeying to the Ottoman Empire and then on to Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Russia—including Moscow—from where, however, he was expelled after being denied permission to travel eastward (there were fears that his escapade might negatively affect the ongoing Russian-Chinese negotiations regarding the border conflict). From there, he made his way to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and, with the help of the court of John III and the support of the Voivode of Ruthenia, Stanisław Jabłonowski, he traveled to Moldavia. Another trip to Moscow also ended in failure. Nevertheless, the book includes a description of the routes to China through Siberia, compiled—though the author tried to conceal this—not from his own experience, but based on the account of a caravan of Chinese merchants he encountered in Russia. The text contains a wealth of geographical and ethnographic information about Central Asia, as well as about the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Moldavian relations, and Russia. Avril wrote his work after returning to France in 1690, and by publishing it, he repaid Stanisław Jabłonowski for his help; Jabłonowski’s portrait—along with the author’s dedication—opens this first edition. Shortly after publication, the Jesuit set out on another mission to China, this time by sea. In a twist of fate, his belief in the safety of the overland route was proven correct when the ship on which he was traveling vanished without a trace in 1698. From the library of the French Thirel de Moismorand family (heraldic bookplate, inscriptions). Very good condition. Rare.