Lettres edifiantes et curieuses, ecrites des missions etrangeres, par quelques missionaires de la Compagnie de Jesus. XXVII. Recueil

Paris: Nicolas Le Clerc, 1749. First edition, 12mo, pp. xliii, [5], 480; folding plate of chayaver plant; contemporary full calf, gilt-ruled spine in 6 compartments, red stained edges; spine worn, upper joint starting, lower flyleaf loose, large tear to plate neatly mended on verso; ex-St. Stanislaus Novitiate House Library, Guelph, Ont. (closed in 1971) with labels and a bookplate on upper pastedown, and shelf label on spine, text clean, good and sound. Volume XXVII contains letters from: Margat on missionary activity in St. Domingue, and Fauque in French Guiana, plus an account of persecution in China. One volume of the 34-volume collection of Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents (1703-1776). "These volumes, issued regularly by the Society of Jesus, presented selections from correspondence and reports written by Jesuit missionaries then scattered around the globe" and reflected "the continued interest in France in the progress of the Jesuit missions in various parts of the world. The termination of the series reflects the suppression of the Society of Jesus by papal decree" (James Ford Bell Catalogue, L-368). Collectively they provided some of the most thorough reporting on China in particular, as well as early and first-hand accounts of Native American life. Howes L 299; James Ford Bell Catalogue, L-368.