Recherches historiques et geographiques sur le Nouveau-Monde

SCHERER Jean-Louis
Recherches historiques et geographiques sur le Nouveau-Monde
Chez Brunet, Paris 1777, in-8 (12,5 x 20,2 cm), xii (2 f.) 352 pp., contemporary sheep
The rare first edition with eight illustrations (Chinese coins and medals, Buddha) and a large folding map of Siberia and the river Lena.
Contemporary marbled sheep, spine in compartments, roulette to head and foot, brown morocco title-piece. Triple fillet frame. Small lack at head. Wormhole to foot of upper joint, two corners rubbed. Headpieces, joints, and corners scraped. A very good, fresh copy.
An important essay on the origins of the peoples of the American continent (North and South). The author uses several approaches to produce a powerful comparative study of languages (most notably those of the islands of South-East Asia, Mexico and Peru), dress and traditions. Scherer’s conclusion, notably relying on Classical literature and various accounts of voyages, is that the people of the Americas had several different migratory origins, including Chinese, African and Asian tribes. North America, and especially Alaska, received several waves of migration from the Bering Strait, via Kamchatka, and from Asia.