(WEST INDIES) Quélus D de The Natural History of Chocolate

Sale 2310 - Lot 323

Price Realized: $ 1,560

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

(WEST INDIES.) Quélus, D. de. The Natural History of Chocolate. 8vo, modern full calf in period style; light toning. London, 1724

Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

first english edition, translated by Richard Brookes from the 1719 French edition. De Queles spent 15 years in the French West Indies and grew fond of the native cocoa. Good news for our readers: "One ounce of Chocolate contains as much Nourishment as a pound of Beef" (page 48). More good news: "If a Person . . . fatigued with long and hard Labour, or with a violent Agitation of Mind, takes a good Dish of Chocolate, he shall perceive almost instantly, that his Faintness shall cease, and his Strength shall be recovered" (page 51). Includes extensive notes on preparation and use. 10 pages are also devoted to other foods such as banana, manioc, and pimento. European Americana 724/140; Sabin 67091 (French edition). None known at auction since 1969; ESTC lists 5 copies in the United States and 5 elsewhere.