Voyage d'Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grece, et du Levant. Fait en 1675 & 1676. 3 vols. - ["ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOUNTS OF TRAVEL IN THE LEVANT"] by SPON, JACOB (+) GEORGE WHELER - 1678

1678. Lyon, Antoine Cellier, 1678. 8vo. Uniformly bound in three contemporary full calf bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Edges of boards gilt. Small paper-labels pasted on to top of spines. Light wear to extremities, particularly to head and foot of spines, vol. 2. with some loss of leather. Vol. 1 with dampstain to upper outer margin, otherwise internally nice and clean. (24), 405 pp.; 417, (13) pp.; 204, 226 pp. + frontispiece and 32 plates and maps. Rare first edition of Spon’s famous travel account; “one of the most important accounts of travels in the Levant, and the first description of Athens which was systematic, detailed and trustworthy" (Blackmer) – it remained an important reference up until the 19th century. “The three-volume account of Spon's voyage was first published in Lyon in 1678. It constituted a major literary event, and became a landmark in travel literature. It is the product of first-hand investigation, free of plagiarism and also touches on contemporary issues in the Greek territories which he visited. The second volume includes an important glossary of modern Greek words, for travellers' use, while the third volume is dedicated exclusively to the inscriptions and coins collected by Spon during his journey. Spon's travel account was republished in French and was translated into English. Four years later, George Wheler published his own account of their journey, which is in fact but a mediocre copy of Spon's work. In 1680, Spon published his “History of Geneva” and in 1685 an catalogue of ancient Greek inscriptions.” (Vingopoulou, Aikaterini Laskarids Foundartion).