BLUTEAU, Rafael Prosas Portuguezas, recitadas em differentes Congressos Academicos. Lisbon Na Officina de Joseph Antonio da Sylva 1729
2 parts in 1 vol. Small folio. (16) ff., 421, (3 blank) pp.; 383 pp. With 1 double p. diagram of cabbalistic letters. Contemporary sheepskin, covers blind-stamped (head & foot of spine slightly worn, front hinge weak).
First edition. Father Bluteau spent most of his long life in Portugal. Born in London of French parents, he was a cleric of the Theatine order, who came to Portugal in 1668 at the command of the general of the order. He acted as an agent for the Portuguese court involved in covert attempts to lure foreign artisans to Lisbon, and was instrumental in developing Portugal's silk and textile industries (see Hanson, Economy and society in baroque Portugal 1668-1703). An excellent linguist, he compiled the first Portuguese dictionary. The volume includes an essay on the importance of promoting agriculture and industry in Portugal, and his notable work on the culture of silkworms, Instrucçao sobre a Cultura das Amoreiras e Criação dos Bichos da Seda, is reprinted here (Part II, pp. 307-356), with a supplement (pp. 366-382). Marginal tear repaired in Pt. II, p. 77/8, otherwise a good copy. Innocêncio VII, 44. Azevedo-Samodães 427, apreciadas, e pouco frequentes no mercado. Palha 683, recueil assez estimé. Ameal 292. Avila Perez 821.
£380
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