Small 4to (219 x 165 mm). Engraved allegorical title-page, large engraved foldout map, 30 engraved plates, of which 8 are folding. (A few leaves brown, some spotting and offsetting.) Contemporary paneled calf (rebacked, front hinge splitting).

FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, of this most interesting and important travel narrative for both Russia and China. Ides, a Dutch merchant, traveled across Siberia and into Peking on behalf of Peter the Great in 1692. The primary purpose of the expedition was to conclude further commercial agreements with the Chinese. Before the Tartars became masters of China, it was almost impossible for foreigners to find admittance to the Imperial Court. Kang-hi was desirous of preventing Russian encroachments upon his territories and the Czar was anxious to establish a regular commerce with China. The expedition added considerable geographical knowledge to the little that was known about Manchuria and China and gave vivid descriptions of the people and places seen, including the Great Wall. Cordier Sinica 2468; Cox I:331; Lust 519; Löwendahl 294.