Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - August - 2006 Issue
Ancient Books from Librairie Rodolphe Chamonal
Voyage en Syrie recounts an 1830s journey to Syria to buy horses.
Alexandre Exquemelin was a Frenchman who spent his youth as an indentured servant in the Caribbean. Once free, he became a pirate, hooking up with the infamous Henry Morgan for five years. He later turned to more respectable pursuits, becoming a surgeon and a writer. Offered is the French edition of his famous work on the pirates of America, Histoire des avanturiers qui se sont signalez dans les Indies. While some parts appear to be exaggerations, and claims in one edition are not always consistent with those of another, it is still likely the best inside look at piracy in the late 17th century. The book was first published in Holland, and eventually made its way into many languages. As for Exquemelin, he reportedly was heading back to America late in the century, but that is all that is known of his later life. Item 44. €2,800 (US $3,536).
Item 31 is an 1833 travelogue. The book is Voyage en Syrie et dans le Desert, which is something like "Voyage to Syria and in the Desert." Author Louis Damoiseau was a veterinarian who went on a mission to buy some horses from Arabia. It must have been an interesting journey, or else it is unlikely he would have written a book about it. Apparently, this was a dangerous mission. €1,200 (US $1,515).
You may find Librairie Rodolphe Chamonal (in English) online at www.france-antiques.com/slam/chamonal/uk.asp, or reach them by phone at 01 47 70 84 87.
