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Schlesswig:: Bey Jacob zur Glocken. Jm Jahr [1645]-1647., 1645. Large 4to. [13] ff., 546 [i.e. 536] pp., [1] f., 42 pp., [6] ff. With full-page engraved half title, 10 double-page engraved plates, 11 full-pages engraved plates, 60 text figures, engr. head and tail pieces, initial letters. Title with vignette "Allah" in Arabic script. First edition of Offt begehrte Beschreibung der newen orientalischen Reise, 1645-7. This is an important and widely-read seventeenth century account of travels through Russia and Persia, and into India and the Far East. The maps include the large folding plan of the Volga, plus the Baltic regions, Muscovy, Persia, Asia, China, etc. In addition to the OLEARIUS book, this HAND-COLORED DOUBLE-PAGE ENGRAVED MAP depicting Adam Olearius' [Olschlager] route, from the atlas of Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638). The map is fully hand-colored in a contemporary hand. The map is entitled: Nova et Accurata Wolgae Fluminis olim Rha dicti deline atio Auctore Adamo Oleario. / Illustrissimo Domino, Dno. Benedicto Bagge de Berga, Sneco, haec Geographica fluminis Wolgae descriptio humillime offertur. Amsterdam, Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios, et Moses Pitt. [Double-page, [1680?]. [570x650 mm.] Contains 3 cartouches, the map was originally issued by Jan Jansson, Nieuwen atlas of 1658. / "The first edition of Olearius' account of his travels was published in 1647 in Schleswig under the title Offt begehrte Beschreibung der newen orientalischen Rejse, so durch Gelegenheit einer Holsteinischen Legation an d. Konig in Persien geschehen. An extended and restructured edition appeared in 1656: Vermehrte Newe Beschreibung der Muscowitischen und Persischen Reyse, so durch gelegenheit einer Holsteinischern Gesandschafft an den russischen Zaar und Konig in Persien geschehen (reprint with a commentary by D. Lohmeier, Tubingen, 1971). The Vermehrte Newe Beschreibung is divided into six "books" of which the fourth treats the mission's route up to Isfahan, with detailed descriptions of Ardabil, Qazvin, Qom, Kasan, and their stay at the Safavid court. Book five is an encyclopedic description of Persia, covering aspects such as geography, fauna and flora, political institutions, manners, customs and clothing, Safavid history, education, language and script, trade, and religion. The return journey from Isfahan is the subject of book six. Amongst the numerous ethnographic observations, mention should be made of Olearius' depiction of the ?Asura ceremonies and other Shi'ite rituals, including the recitation of a "Machtelnamae" and the celebration of ?Ali's designation as the Prophet's successor ("Chummekater;" p. 435ff., 456ff.). Of interest for the history of printing is the regular insertion of Persian and Turkish quotations in the original script, serving as a model for the later account by Engelbert Kaempfer. The copper plate illustrations are of particular value, especially his detailed city views and the portrait of Shah ?afi. Modern scholars such as Strack, Emerson, and Brancaforte have presented different views on the question of Olearius' objectivity and the extent to which he was affected by contemporary assumptions (Strack; Brancaforte; Emerson). "Olearius provided the first comprehensive description of Persia since antiquity, but his achievements appear less significant when compared with the far broader range and experience of later travelers who wrote after him in the course of the 17 century" (Lohmeier, p. 59). Still, all later travelogues are heavily indebted to him, and his work can be studied as a starting point for the genre. His outstanding contribution to the cartography of Persia is his Nova Delineatio Persiae et Confiniorvm veteri longe accurator edita Anno 1655, the first realistic map of Iran that, in particular, corrects the location and form of the Caspian Sea." ΓΆΒ Β" Encyclopedia Iranica. / Olearius, "Born in 1599 (with the German name Ohlschlegel, later Olschlager), Olearius studied theology, mathematics, astron. Seller Inventory # MEE1127
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