Voyage à l'île de Ceylan, fait dans les années 1797 à 1800; contenant l'histoire, la géographie et la description des mœurs des habitans, ainsi que celle des productions naturelles du pays. Suivi de la relation d'une Ambassade envoyée, en 1800, au roi de Candy. Traduit de l'anglais par P.F. Henry

First edition of the French translation of this account, originally published under the title: "An Account of the Island of Ceylon" in London in 1803 (cf. Boucher de La Richarderie, V, 135. Brunet, IV, 490 and Quérard, VII, 43 mention an edition published by Dentu, 1804).

Contemporary full mottled calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt compartments and gilt tools, red morocco lettering pieces, green calf volume labels, gilt rolls at the head and tail partly worn, fragile joints, marbled paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplates pasted to the pastedowns, gilt fillets on the board edges, speckled edges.

Bindings rubbed, small losses at the foot of the joints, a few light foxing spots.

Our copy is complete with its four folding maps and plans issued out of text: map of the island of Ceylon, plan of the port of Trinquemale, map of the pearl fisheries, and plan of the port of Colombo.

An English officer, Robert Percival (1765–1826) took part in the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in 1796, then occupied by the Dutch.

The following year he was sent to Ceylon with the British troops, where he remained for more than three years, allowing him to visit nearly all the coasts as well as the interior of the island. He was also a member of an embassy sent to the island’s native sovereign.

His account offers a comprehensive panorama of the island of Ceylon at the end of the eighteenth century: history, geography, natural resources, agriculture, trade, civil and military institutions, customs and manners of the Dutch, Portuguese, Malays and Sinhalese, fauna and flora, etc.

Provenance: from the library of the Château de Menneval, with bookplates pasted to the pastedowns.