Milestones of Science Books

KIRCHER, Athanasius.

China monumentis qua sacris qua profanis, nec non variis naturae & artis spectaculis, aliarumque rerum memorabilium argumentis.

Amsterdam: Joan Janssonius van Waesberghe, 1667.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #003582

Folio (376 x 246 mm). [14], 237, [11] pp. Including engraved allegorical frontispiece title-page, letterpress title-page with printer's woodcut vignette, engraved portrait of the author, 2 folding maps (of China and South-East-Asia), 23 engraved plates (2 folding, 1 double-page), 61 engraved vignettes, several engraved text illustrations, woodcut initials- and tailpieces, index bound at end. Signatures: *-**⁴ A-2H⁴. Bound in 20th century plain vellum with yapp edges, red sprinkled edges, original free endpapers present (worming of front endpaper). Text somewhat browned and spotted as usual, first map with clean tear to fold, a few small wormholes near gutter of first 6 leaves. Provenance: Gaston Héliot (pictoral bookplate numbered 1667 to first flyleaf). A very good copy. Collated and complete. ----

Honeyman 1824; Caillet 5773; Brunet III, 666; Merrill 20. THE TRUE FIRST EDITION of Kircher's profusely illustrated account of China based on descriptions by many European explorers, including many Jesuits such as Kircher himself. The first edition is larger in size, the Amsterdam and Antwerp counterfeit prints of the same year are about 5 cm smaller and with the engravings redone. The engravings are based on these explorers' sketches and original images imported from Asia. This work includes the first Chinese vocabulary ever printed in the West . . . the standard text for the study of Chinese until the nineteenth century" (Merrill). - Visit our website to see more images!

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