WAHRHAFTIGE AUSFURLICHE BESCHREIBUNG DER BERUHMTEN OST-INDISCHEN KUSTEN MALABAR UND COROMANDEL AUS AUCH DER INSEL ZEYLON

by Baldaeus, Philippus:

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Book desription: Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius von Waesberge and Johannes von Someren, 1672.. [6],610,[24]pp. including numerous illustrations in text, plus many full- page and double-page maps and views. Extra engraved allegorical title. Folio. Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine. Light spotting. Minor toning. Contemporary ownership markings on extra title and titlepage. Overall internally bright and clean. Very good. One of two 1672 editions, the other also published in Amsterdam, in Dutch. Baldaeus' text is a primary work on southern India and the island of Ceylon. The book is divided into three sections: a general description of the region, a description of Ceylon, and a treatise on Indian gods and goddesses. "The author was a Dutch missionary in the Malabar and Coromandel districts. His narrative gives considerable information on the Dutch settlements in Southern India. He bears witness to the ravages of the dreaded Malabar pirates who still infested the western coasts of India" - Cox, citing Oaten, EARLY TRAVELLERS AND TRAVELS IN INDIA. Lach goes further in his praise of Baldaeus, quoting an 18th-century claim by Valentijn that Baldaeus "had provided 'the most detailed and the best' account of Ceylon.'" The remarkable cartography and views in Baldaeus' work are some of the most detailed produced to date. He offers maps of Goa, Suratte, Cochin, Cananor, Columbo, Jafnapatnam, and more. The views range from illustrations of Malabar pirate cruelty, to quaint local scenes, to fantastical depictions of Indian gods. The fauna of India also plays a central role in the illustrations, with the elephant making the most cameos. In addition, Baldaeus includes two double-page plates of the Malabar language. One of the best early descriptions of India, amply illustrated, here in an attractive contemporary binding. LANDWEHR VOC 557. TIELE 70 (ref). EBERT 1543. COX I, p.283 (another ed). Lach, ASIA IN THE MAKING OF EUROPE III, Book 2, pp.954-55.

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