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Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
Klaproth, Julius von (1783-1835) Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia, Performed in the Years 1807 and 1808 by the Command of the Russian Government.
London: Printed for Henry Colburn and sold by G. Goldie, Edinburgh & J. Cumming, Dublin, 1814.
First edition in English, translated from German by English writer, journalist, illustrator and translator Frederic Shoberl (1775-1853); large quarto, ex library with discard stamp to title page, bound in modern half leather with gilt ruled and lettered spine, some foxing to title; 10 5/8 x 8 1/4 in.
Klaproth was a German explorer, linguist, writer and historian whose father was a chemist credited with discovering four elements of the periodic table, including uranium. In this description of southern Russia, his interests in the people, languages, history, and material culture of the region are evident. His engaging prose covers many topics, including regional cuisine, indigenous dress, local troubles with wood lice infestation, and a robbery of the author. Klaproth was traveling with what he calls "my great Chinese hound," which he acquired in Siberia, and passes along an account of a vicious fight between his dog and a vulture that ended poorly for the bird.
