D'AVRIL (Adolphe).
L'Arabie Contemporaine avec la Description du Pèlerinage de la Meque.
WITH THE HANDSOME MAP
An excellent, crisp copy of a work that’s now scarce in the trade.
Adolphe d’Avril (1822-1904) studied law and entered the diplomatic corps in 1847, rising through the ranks via postings to Bucharest and Chile. He published other travel accounts, such as Voyage sentimental dans les pay slaves … (Paris, 1876), under the pseudonym “Cyrille.”
In addition to descriptions of Najd, Hejaz and Yemen, he includes notes on the Wahhabis, the lives of Arab women and the minority religious and ethnic groups of the Arabian Peninsula. Other aspects of special interest include his account of a trip to Mecca (different routes are described), the cholera epidemic of 1865, and Kiepert’s finely engraved map.
Gay, 3605.
