A New Account of East-India and Persia, in Eight Letters: Being Nine Years Travels, Begun in 1672. And Finished 1681

John Fryer, A New Account of East-India and Persia, in Eight Letters: Being Nine Years Travels, Begun in 1672. And Finished 1681. Containing Observations Made of the Moral, Natural, and Artificial Estate of Those Countries: Namely, of Their Government, Religion, Laws, Customs. Of the Soil, Climates, Seasons, Health, and Diseases. Of the Animals, Vegetables, Minerals, Jewels. Of Their Housing, Clothing, Manufactures, Trades, and Commodities. And of the Coins, Weights, and Measures, Used in the Principal Places of Trade in Those Parts, begun in 1672 and finished in 1681. London: Ri[chard] Chiswell, at the Rose and Crown in St Paul’s Church-Yard, 1698

[8], xiii, [1, errata], 427, [1, blank], [xxiv index] pp. With a total of nine engraved plates, including the engraved frontispiece, four engraved plates, three of which are double page, one small folding plan, and three engraved map plates (one of which is page 60 with the printed key over-slip). Numerous other engravings in the text. Title page in red and black. Without free endpapers. The half-title is printed on the verso of the frontispiece portrait. With a separate title page for collections of the coins, weights, and precious stones, usual in those places of trade within the charter of the Honourable East India Company, which is part of the pagination. Full period panelled calf. Spine printed in gilt. Red morocco spine label, lettered in gilt. Edges speckled red.
12.28 x 7.52 in (31.2 x 19.1 cm)

THE FIRST ENGLISH ACCOUNT OF BOMBAY: JOHN FRYER’S NINE YEARS TRAVELS, 1698

"On 9 December 1672, Fryer left from Gravesend for a lengthy tour of India and Persia undertaken in the interests of the East India Company. He did not return to England until August 1682. Sixteen years later he published A New Account of East India and Persia, Being Nine Years' Travels, Begun in 1672, which he had been prompted to write in the wake of criticism of English expeditions in French guides. A book rich in details of natural history and local medical practice, Fryer's account was republished in Dutch in 1700." (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).

First edition of John Fryer’s celebrated travel narrative, among the earliest detailed English accounts of Bombay and western India. A Fellow of the Royal Society, Fryer spent nine years (1672–81) as a surgeon in the service of the East India Company, journeying across Persia and the western seaboard of India, including Surat, Goa, Madras, and, crucially, the recently transferred islands of Bombay.

Letter II, titled An Historical Account of Bombaím and the Parts Adjacent, provides one of the earliest substantial English descriptions of the island, its geography, inhabitants, and political context under Company governance. The accompanying engraved map shows Bombay and neighbouring islands, including Elephanta, Canorein, Trombay, and Henry Kenry, marking Malabar Hill, Verulee, and the Magatam River.

Beyond Bombay, Fryer’s account is rich in observations on climate, health, religion, laws, and trade and offers early European descriptions of Indian flora, fauna, and mineral wealth. The folding and in-text maps—notably of the Malabar and Coromandel coasts and Ceylon—extend its importance as a cartographic as well as literary landmark.

Highly regarded by contemporaries and later travellers, Fryer’s work stands alongside the narratives of Tavernier, Bernier, and Thevenot in shaping the European understanding of India in the seventeenth century. The book remains a cornerstone for collectors of Bombay-related material, offering a foundational textual and visual record of the city in its formative years under the East India Company.

NON-EXPORTABLE

This lot is offered at RESERVE

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition of each book.