Lot 49. LESSEPS, Jean Baptiste Barthélemy de.

Lesseps served as Russian interpreter during the famous scientific expedition under the command of La Pérouse, despatched by Louis XVI to circumnavigate the globe. Part-way through the voyage Lesseps was charged with carrying the expedition’s letters and official journals back to France. He was left at Petropavlovsk, and though his journey across the empire was very difficult, he successfully delivered the dispatches, and is credited with the survival of many of the ill-fated expedition’s documents.

First edition. 2 vols, 8vo, [vi], viii, 280; [iv], 380, vii pp., 2 folding maps, large engraved plate, contemporary mottled calf gilt, light wear, an excellent copy.

[Hill 1010; Howes L-270; Sabin 40208. ]