Fine Books and Manuscripts

[Abrege de l'histoire general des voyages. Paris, 1780-1781.]Atlas volume only, 8vo (213 x 255 mm). 74 engraved maps, some folding or single-page, letterpress folding table. (Some pale spotting, a few short marginal tears.) Contemporary half brown sprinkled calf, manuscript waste paste paper boards, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, brown and black gilt lettering-pieces gilt, edges sprinkled red (some light wear, particularly to extremities). La Harpe's work was an abridgement of Antoine Francois Prevost's history of voyages, which was published in quarto and octavo editions beginnng in 1746, and containing as many as 80 volumes. La Harpe edited the work, and updated it with information about new voyages which had taken place; he originally intended to publish 21 volumes, but added an additional two volumes to account for Cook's third voyage. The atlas includes maps of the world, the South Pole, North and South America, Africa, Asia, and charts of the oceans.