VIAGGI DALLA CHINA ALLA COSTA NORD-OVEST D'AMERICA FATTI NEGLI ANNI 1788 e 1789 - DAL CAPITANO G. MEARES.

(TRAVELS FROM CHINA TO THE NORTHWEST COAST OF AMERICA MADE IN THE YEARS 1788 and 1789 - BY CAPTAIN G. MEARES.)

Prima Traduzione Italiana. (First Italian Edition.)

Published by Giovacchino Pagani, Firenze (Florence), MDCCXCVI (1796). First Italian, one of two editions published in the same year (the other was published in Naples).

Originally published in England in 1790, then France in 1794. This First Italian Edition had the ENGRAVINGS REDONE by a FLORENTINE ARTIST, and the engraved plates were made a part of the volumes. SCARCE with the GORGEOUS FLORENTINE PLATES.

This auction is for THREE of FOUR VOLUMES - Volumes II, III and IV. LACKING VOLUME I.

Original Wrappers, paper title labels on spines, 5x7.5 inches. TEXT in ITALIAN.

Pagination:

Volume II : XV + 212 pages. ILLUSTRATED WITH 7 PLATES, including 1 that folds-open. The plates are each printed on their own unnumbered leaf.

Volume III : X + 238 pages. ILLUSTRATED WITH 1 FOLD-OPEN PLATE.

Volume IV : [4] + VIII + 276 pages. ILLUSTRATED WITH 9 PLATES, including 2 that fold-open.

THE PAGES AND PLATES HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY COLLATED. THESE BOOKS ARE COMPLETE, ALL PLATES ARE PRESENT AND IN THEIR PROPER ORDER. THERE ARE 17 PLATES IN TOTAL IN THESE THREE VOLUMES.

There is a 1.5x3.5 inch label pasted onto the inside front cover of Volume II that reads: "MEARES, JOHN. Viaggi dalla China... Firenzi, 1796. Vols. 2-4 only. Lacks Vol. 1. 1st ed. In Italian. Orig. wraps."

Condition: The original wrappers on these three volumes are mostly chipped off at the spine, exposing the signatures beneath, have chips and tears at the edges, a few holes, creases, smudges, general aging and wear, etc; the front wrapper and front free endpaper of Volume IV are disbound (i.e. present but laid-on loosely); the front wrapper of Volume IV also has its top margin and bottom front corners torn away (i.e. it is missing large pieces). Internally, there are corner creases, some corner tears, some spotting here and there, a few pages with light edge stains, a bit of foxing here and there, some page toning, splits between some signatures (always still holding well with the sewn binding); but overall the inner pages are incredibly well-kept, still complete, tight, bright, clean and unmarked. THE PLATES ARE GORGEOUS.

A WONDERFUL SET OF 3 (of 4) VOLUMES of this SCARCE WORK, COMPLETE and in ORIGINAL WRAPPERS.