Cardim, A.F. Relation de la province du Iapon

Ecrite en Portugais par le Pere François Cardim de la Compagnie de Iesus procureur de cette Province. Traduitte du Portugais (...). With: F. Barretto. Relation des mission de la province de Malabar, de la Comp. de Iesus, Ecrite en Italien par le P. François Barretto procureur de cette province à Rome (...). French translations by P. Fr. Lahier "de la même compagnie". Tournay, A. Quinque, 1645, 2 parts in 1 vol. w. continuous pagination, (10),184; (2),308 p., cont. limp vellum, sm. 8vo. Sl. moulded at the end, the final leaf w. a few sm. holes (not affecting the the text), backed w. a strip of paper on p. 308. Minor other internal and external, imperfections, a (very) good copy.

Pagès, 265; De Backer & Sommervogel I, col. 923 & II, cols. 739-740; Alt-Japan-Katalog 278; Cordier, Japonica, col. 360; Desmazières 186. Rare first French editions of important Jesuit accounts of the Far East by Antonio Francesco Cardim (1595-1659) and Francesco Barretto, published in the same year as the original Italian edition. The title of Cardim's work suggests it only deals with Japan, but it is especially important for its extensive, very early accounts of Thailand and Vietnam. It also describes St. Paul's College in Macau, China, the first Western University in the Far East, where Cardim (1595-1659) served as rector from 1632 to 1636. It covers the history, religions (notably Buddhism) and customs of the regions. Cardim went to the East Indies in 1618, travelled extensively in Japan, China and especially Southeast Asia. He died in Macao. The account of Malabar by Francesco Barretto (1599-1663), "begins w. a brief but informative discussion of conditions in Malabar, followed by a review of affairs in the missions to the St. Thomas Christians and to Cochin, Ceylon, Jaffna, Madura, Mannar, the Coromandel coast, and Bengal" (Lach & Van Kley III, p. 379-380). Barretto was active in India from 1624 to 1644.