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[Windus, John].
A Journey to Mequinez; the Residence of the Present Emperor of Fez and Morocco. On the occasion of Commodore Stewart's embassy thither for the redemption of the British captives in the year 1721.
Publisher: Printed for Jacob Tonson in the Strand, London;
Date of Publication: 1725
Stock Code: 15462
First edition. Octavo, pp., [30], 251, [13] index and terminal blank, plus 5 folding engraved plates and 1 folding plan by Paul Fourdrinier, as called for. Sig., A⁸ a⁸, B-C⁸ D⁸ (-1 = D2) E-R⁸ S⁴. Lacks [pi]1 (the half-title) and text leaf D2, otherwise complete. Contemporary sprinkled calf; gilt roll borders; all edges dyed red; recased with roan spine on five raised bands; titled in gilt to red morocco spine label; contemporary marbled end-papers. Armourial bookplate of Henry Brooksbank (a relative of the Brooksbank baronets of Healaugh), to front paste-down. Boards and edges rubbed; fore-edges a touch mottled; repair to hinges; binding otherwise square and solid. Occasional light scattered spotting to contents; minor nicks to edges of plates; soiling to upper corner of plate 3, not affecting image. A working copy. An important early English account of Morocco, by a writer selected by George I to accompany a squadron charged with entreating peace with the emperor, Mawlay Isma’il. Windus had four months, between the signing of a peace treaty in January 1721 and a conference in May to compile documents for this book. According to the preface, Windus included only observations from his direct experience, or from reliable sources. While there had been a number of accounts of Morocco by English writers of the late seventeenth-century, Windus was unusual in lacking moralising commentary. The book was a success, entering numerous editions (including an almost immediate unauthorised Dublin edition), and was later compiled into The History of the Long Captivity and Adventures of Thomas Pellow in South Barbary (1739). £400.00