Lettres edifiantes et curieuses, ecrites des missions etrangeres, par quelques missionaires de la Compagnie de Jesus. XX. Recueil
Paris: Nicolas Le Clerc, 1731. First edition, 12mo, pp. xlviii, 449, [17]; contemporary full calf, gilt-decorated spine in 6 compartments, red stained edges; spine label perished, boards rubbed and lower board starting, ex-St. Stanislaus Novitiate House Library, Guelph, Ont. (closed in 1971) with labels and a bookplate on upper pastedown, and shelf label on spine, text clean, good and sound. Volume XX contains letters from: Dominique Parennin on missionary work in the Chinese court; Maturin le Petit on the religion, lifestyle, medicine, government etc. of the Natchez people around New Orleans; Lombard and Fauque on their work in French New Guinea; Dentrecolles on art and flower arragement of China; Margat on guineafowl and turkey, and converting slaves and native people of St. Dominique. One volume of the 34-volume collection of Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents (1703-1776). "These volumes, issued regularly by the Society of Jesus, presented selections from correspondence and reports written by Jesuit missionaries then scattered around the globe" and reflected "the continued interest in France in the progress of the Jesuit missions in various parts of the world. The termination of the series reflects the suppression of the Society of Jesus by papal decree" (James Ford Bell Catalogue, L-368). Collectively they provided some of the most thorough reporting on China in particular to Western audiences of the period, as well as early and first-hand accounts of Native American life. Howes L 299; James Ford Bell Catalogue, L-368. Item #58647
Price: $600.00
