‎Fryer, John.‎
‎A New Account of East-India and Persia, in Eight Letters. Being nine years travels, Begun 1672. And finished 1681. Containing Observations made of the Moral, Natural, and Artificial Estate of Those Countries: Namely, Of their Government, Religion, Laws, Customs. Of the Soil, Climates, Seasons, Health, Diseases. Of the Animals, Vegetables, Minerals, Jewels. Of their Housing, Cloathing, Manufactures, Trades, Commodities. And of the Coins, Weights, and Measures, used in the Principal Places of Trade in those Parts.‎

‎London, Chiswell, 1698. In-folio (310x210mm) relié plein veau époque, dos à nerfs, 1 plat détaché, x, xiii, 427, xxiv pp., frontispice. Illustré de 5 planches hors-texte dont 3 dépliantes et de 3 cartes. Titre imprimé en rouge et noir. Fryer était un chirurgien au service de la compagnie des Indes Orientales, pendant 9 ans il voyagea extrêmement des côtes de Coromandel et malabar. Il décrivit les villes de Surat et Bombay le commerce et les coutumes de Madras et de la Perse. Très RARE, bon exemplaire. x, xiii, 427, xxiv pp. Illus. with engraved frontispiece portrait of the author, 5 engraved plates (3 folding) and 3 maps, one with printed overslip; title in red and black, woodcut illustrations in text. Folio. "Fryer was a surgeon in the service of the East India Company for nine years and travelled extensively on the Coromandel and Malabar coasts. He describes well the cities of Surat and Bombay, the life and trade there as well as at Madras. Nearly sixteen years elapsed before he could be persuaded to publish the story of his wanderings. At length piqued at the frequent appearance of translations of foreign, especially French, books of travel, in which English industry and enterprise were decried, he issued a handsome folio," (Cox, 'Reference Guide To The Literature Of Travel, Vol I, p. 280). "As a surgeon in the service of the East India Company, he left England in December 1672 and arrived at Masulipatam in June 1673. He spent the following four years on the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, visiting and describing Surat, Bombay and Madras. He also travelled to Gokarna, Karwar, Goa, and ventured inland to Junnar. He was in Persia between 1677 and 1679, then returned to India until 1681. [his] account of the places he visited is accurate and reliable with numerous anecdotes told with a fine sense of humour'' (Howgego, 'Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800', p.406). It is a "book rich in details of natural history and local medical practice," (DNB). ‎

Reference : P2-7E-4

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