The Travels of Sig. Pietro della Valle, a noble roman into East India and Arabia Deserta ... Whereunto is added A Relation of Sir Thomas Roe's Voyage into the East-Indies. London: Printed by J. Macock for Henry Herringman, 1665.
Folio (293 x 183 mm). [viii], 480 pp, including imprimatur leaf. Translated from the Italian by George Havers. Double-page engraved map ("A Description of East India"), 3 engraved plates on two leaves, some text illustrations. Modern paneled calf to style. Some margins with occasional small tears or chips, neat marginal repairs to first and last few leaves, wormtrack from L1 to 2T2 with occasional slight loss to text, map shaved at lower margin into plate area and with small chips to other blank margins.

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF THIS FASCINATING VIEW OF THE EAST AT THE HEIGHT OF THE MOGHUL EMPIRE. The original is the third part of the author's Viaggi ... cioè la Turchia, la Persia, e l'India. Pietro della Valle was a high-born Italian polymath and adventurer who traveled to Persia and India, via Turkey and the Holy Land. The addition of Roe's account provides an interesting contrast. Sir Thomas Roe [?1581-1644] was on a trade and diplomatic mission between 1615 to 1618, whilst della Valle's personal wealth allowed him to travel and observe at will: he left Italy in 1614 and did not return until 1626. His account includes detailed descriptions of music, dance and food, whereas Roe's account contains descriptions of his voyage, religion, society, customs and governance. Wing V47.