CHINA - JAPAN -- GUIGNES, (Chr.L.J.) de. Dictionnaire... Lot 140

CHINA - JAPAN -- GUIGNES, (Chr.L.J.) de. Dictionnaire chinois, français et latin. Paris, l'Imprimerie Impériale, 1813. (6), lvi, 1112, (2) pp. Lge-fol. Handsomely restored h. green mor. bind. w. marbled paper sides, older gilt lettered spine laid down. NOTE:The first printed Chinese dictionary in the Western world. In 1808, Napoleon ordered De Guignes to prepare a Chinese-French-Latin dictionary. The work was completed five years later, but was in fact a re-presentation of an older work composed by the Franciscan friar, Basilio Brollo of Gemona (1648–1704). De Guignes (1759–1845) was a French merchant-trader, ambassador and scholar, born in Paris. He was the son of French academician and sinologue, Joseph de Guignes. He learned Chinese from his father, and then traveled to China where he stayed for the next 17 years and returned to France in 1801. - Cordier 1589; Lust 1037; Löwendahl 763.