Voyage littéraire de la Grèce, ou Lettres sur les Grecs, anciens et modernes, avec un parallèle de leurs moeurs

Third edition illustrated with 10 plates hors-texte including a frontispiece by Dalbou after Hoüel, 5 plates hors-texte by Laurent after Favray and 4 folding plates hors-texte by Laurent after Massit. The first three volumes contain all the letters on Greece, the last contains other opuscules by the author: Essays on Tibullus's Elegies (followed by their translation), The Seasons and Light Poetry.
Numerous floral headpieces and tailpieces (flower baskets, carnations...).
Contemporary full marbled blonde calf binding. Smooth spines decorated with green morocco title and volume labels, small gilt floral fleurons, and gilt dentelle at tail. Triple gilt frames on boards. All edges marbled. Headcap of first volume abraded. Some wormholes on spines of second and third volumes. Tail joint split on first volume. Six corners bumped. Surface abrasions. Some pale corner dampstains. Worming affecting the entire lower right corner of the third volume. Handsome overall appearance of the copy.
Broader than its title suggests, the Literary Journey to Greece contains numerous information about the Turks, Armenians and their customs, and naturally the peoples of Greece. The letters are the work of a merchant residing in Constantinople, Monsieur Guys, addressed to an art lover, Bourlat de Montredont. Deeply devoted to literature and research on Antiquity, the author in his description of Greece, its customs and practices, draws his material from ancient writers by establishing constant parallels with modern Greece, showing how much all of Greek literature is found in it. Each letter focuses on a subject, many deal with art, but some more specific ones cover furniture, jewelry, makeup, festivities, proprieties, baths, architecture, and naturally, a domain of particular interest to the author: commerce and navigation. Some letters are additions, and treat customs among the Turks, Jews... An ambitious project by a man anchored in the reality of his time (and who spent more than 30 years in the Levant), the Literary Journey to Greece identifies in modern Greece all the heritage of Antiquity, and makes modern Greeks the direct heirs, descendants of ancient Greeks. The author thus renews interest in travel to Greece. Before its time, it is one of the first works of anthropology.