Voyage dans l'Inde et au Bengale, fait dans les années 1789 et 1790 ; contenant la description des îles Séchelles et de Trinquemalay, des détails sur le caractère et les arts industrieux des peuples de l'Inde, la description de quelques pratiques religieuses des habitans du Bengale. Suivi d'un voyage fait dans la Mer Rouge, contenant la description de Moka, et du commerce des Arabes de l'Yémen ; des détails sur leur caractère et leurs moeurs, etc.[A Voyage in the Indian Ocean and to Bengal, undertaken in the years 1789 and 1790]
First edition, illustrated with 7 plates: a plan of Fort William and a large folding view of Calcutta in the first volume; 5 folding plates in the second volume (including 3 views of Mocha and its surroundings), see Gay 3317bis.
Contemporary full tree calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, floral tools and geometric patterns, now largely faded, red morocco title-pieces, green bottle-morocco volume labels, some wear to joints, marbled endpapers, red-speckled yellow edges.
Rubbing to the spines, split to one joint.
Rare sole edition of one of the author's two travel accounts. A naval officer and son of a slave trader from Saint-Malo, Louis Ohier de Grandpré (1761–1846) had served in Suffren's campaign in India. He later turned to commerce, outfitting three ships in La Rochelle for trade and the slave trade.
His journeys took him to India (Bengal) and to the eastern coast of Arabia. His description of Yemen, and especially of the port of Mocha, is considered the first serious French account of the region.
Copy from the library of the Château de Menneval (Eure), with engraved bookplates mounted on the pastedowns.