The great collection of Jesuit letters
Lettres édifiantes et curieuses,
écrites des missions étrangères. Toulouse Nole-Etienne Sens & Auguste Gaude 1810-11
Nouvelle édition, twenty six volumes, 12mo, in total more than 9,900 pages, 28 plates, 27 maps and plans, many folding. A very good complete set, handsomely bound in crimson quarter morocco, marbled boards and end-papers, by SILI of Saigon. Spines a little sun-faded. A few marginal tears.
Cordier BS 937
A massive and justly famous compendium of Jesuit letters written from about 1706 to justify their activities in various parts of the world, and to raise funds for their mission. Volumes 1–5 concern the Levant, 6–9 America, 10–15 the Indies, and 16–26 China. The original version appeared between 1702 and 1776. Querbeuf rearranged the letters on a more systematic basis and his edition, which first appeared in 1780–83, is often preferred to the original for its better organisation.