78/2598 [China]. Ides, E.Ysbrants. Driejaarige reize naar China, te lande gedaan door den Moskovischen Afgezant, E.Ysbrants Ides, Van Moskou af, Over Groot Ustiga, Siriania, Permia, Sibirien, Daour, Groot Tartaryen Tot in China. Amst., F. Halma, 1704, 1st ed., (30),243,(5)p., engr. frontisp., large fold. map, 8 fold. plates, 1 full-p. plate and 21 half-p. ills., contemp. blindst. vellum, 4to.

- Large map newly folded and professionally restored/ strengthened on part of old folds. Fine copy.

= Tiele 519; Cordier, Sinica p.2469; Muller, Neerl.-Russ. 387; Adelung II, p.385-390; Cox I, p.330-331; Henze II, p.682-683; Howgego I4. The rare first edition of 1704. "This was no easy journey in those days. Ides, who was a Dane in the service of Peter the Great, set out from Moscow March 14, 1692. (...) He composed his journal for the information and satisfaction of Peter the Great who was well pleased with the results and rewarded the author with the post of Privy Councillor. (...) The expedition added considerable geographical knowledge to the little that was known about Northern Manchuria and China." (Cox). "Ides (...) spricht Henning (p.339) das Verdienst zu, "die erste Reisebericht über Siberien veröffentlicht zu haben, das sich frei halte von Unwahrscheinlichkeiten und Unverständlichkeiten, und nach denen man sich wirklich ein Bild des durchreisten Gebiets machen konnte"." (Henze). This account describes parts of Central Asia about which no earlier accounts exist. As a result of it, it became possible to fill in blank parts of the map. The interesting large map ("Nova tabula Imperii Russici") is based on the observations of Ides.