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de PATOT, Simon Tyssot: 'Voyages et Aventures de Jacques Masse'…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
17-Jun-2014
Lot No.
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Description:
de PATOT, Simon Tyssot: 'Voyages et Aventures de Jacques Masse' [Jacques L'Aveugle, A Bordeaux (The Hague), 1714, but with 1710 imprint], First Edition; 508pp., The correct first edition (Rosenberg's edition A - 'Tyssot de Patot and his Work 1655-1738') ) with the armillary sphere device on the title page with its base pointing to the left, footnote present on page 77 referring to a plate not present in any surviving copy (the footnote was omitted from other editions when the plate was not produced), and the change to smaller type on page 508. Although the title page is dated 1710, Rosenberg concludes that the book was not published prior to November 1714 and not later than 1717. A landmark in the development of the French voyage novel. 'Wrecked on the coast of Australia, James Massey and other survivors explore the interior and discover a fertile, happy valley, free of wars.', The realistic presentation of the story, in particular the detailed account of the adventurer's camp in the Austral continent, the building of a raft, and the descriptions of plants and trees, may be compared favorably to similar passages in the Robinson Crusoe of later date. The realism of the setting is based upon a close following of accounts of real travellers, such as Dellon, Tavernier, Mocquet, and Lahontan. There is nothing fantastic, unbelievable or overdrawn in the descriptions of the Austral continent. Tyssot seems to restrain himself consciously in order to write an apparently true story.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Unclassified