Basilio Da Gemona (1 results)

Large folio (300 x 460 mm). (6), LVI, 1112, (2) pp. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped title to spine. First edition of this rare and monumental work which marked the beginnings of Sinology in France. A dictionary without parallel, it was composed between 1694 and 1699 by Basilio de Gemona (1648-1704), a Franciscan missionary in China, and originally circulated in handwritten form. The technical complexity of printing such a work delayed publication for a long time: the necessary Chinese characters were engraved in wood under the direction of Etienne Fourmont between 1715 and 1742; known as the "buis du roi", they were placed in the Royal Library in 1745. It was not until 1802 that they reached the French Imperial Printing Office. In 1808 a new attempt at publication was entrusted to Chrétien Louis Joseph de Guignes, the former French consul in China. - With early vellum thumb tabs bearing Chinese characters in ink handwriting. In excellent condition. - Cordier, BS III, 1589. Zaunmüller 42. Vater/Jülg 67. OCLC 3739604.…