[Japan] Kaempfer, E. Histoire naturelle, civile, et ecclesiastique de l'Empire du Japon

Histoire naturelle, civile, et ecclesiastique de l'Empire du Japon. Et trad. en François de J-G. Scheuchzer. The Hague, P. Gosse & J. Neaulme, 1732. 3 vols., (4),lxx,(2),312; (6),416; (4),379,(17) p. W. engr. frontispiece and 13 fold. maps/plans. Contemp. uniform calf, spine gilt in compartments w. mor. letterpiece. 12mo.

Bindings rubbed, occas. sl. foxed or yellowed, else a fine and complete set. Engelbrecht Kämpfer (1651-1716), German traveller and physician, became secretary to the embassy sent by Charles XI through Russia and Persia in 1683. In 1684 he arrived in Isfahan, then the Persian capital. In 1685 he joined the fleet of the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) in the Persian Gulf as chief surgeon. After Arabia and India, he arrived in Batavia in 1689 where he studied Javanese natural history. In May 1690 he set out for Japan as physician to the embassy and was then sent yearly by the Dutch. He stayed two years in Japan and elicited valuable information.