Lettres sur la Sicile et sur l'Ile de Malthe.
Eur 2,500 / USD 2,700
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Turin, Freres Reycends, 1782. 2 volumes. 8vo (192 x 125mm). pp. xix, (1), 236; 256, with 3 folding maps and 26 engraved plates. Contemporary calf, richly floral gilt spines with red gilt lettered label.
contains 2 large folding maps of Sicily and 1 folding map of the Etna,
First edition. A beautifully bound copy of this very attractively illustrated work. Michal Jan Comte de Borch (1753-1810) was a Polish aristocrat and naturalist. He held the military rank of commander of the Maltese Order and was a member of many learned societies. The work contains 2 large folding maps of Sicily and 1 folding map of the Etna, 2 plates show 'Champignon astringens de Malthe' formely considered a fungi and other plates show ancient temples, people etc. "Very scarce. The published letters describing Borch's extensive trips through the islands of Sicily and Maltha. Because of the author's interest in mineralogy, he provides many vivid descriptions of his visits to geological formations and working mines" (Schuh, Bibliography of Mineralogy). Borch was the author of two other books on the minerals and rocks of Sicily as well as a famous work on the on the truffles of the Piemont.
Pescarzoli 104.