⁂ Please note that the description of this lot has changed ⁂
Voyages.- Ray (John) A Collection of Curious Travels & Voyages, 3 parts in 2 vol. in 1, front free endpaper and initial imprimatur detached, foxing and browning, G3 & H1 torn, contemporary panelled calf, worn, [Keynes, Ray 92; Wing R385], 8vo, Printed for S. Smith and B. Walford, 1693.
⁂ The first part is Ray's revision of Nicholas Straphorst's translation of Leonard Rauwolf's 1575 Travels in the Levant, done at the request of Hans Sloane. The second part comprises selected extracts from the works of Belon, Vernon, Spon, Smith, Huntingdon, Greaves, Alpinus, Thevenot and others, whilst the final part is Ray's own catalogue of Levantine plants. This is the standard issue, with publisher's catalogue at end headed in English and dated 1693.
The plant Rauwolfia is named after Rauwolf who discovered it while travelling in India where it was used to treat snake bites, fever, dysentery and insanity. Mahatma Gandhi is said to have drunk it as a tea to relax at the end of the day. In western medicine it forms the basis of the modern drug reserpine, used to treat high blood pressure.
Provenance: William Wynne (bookplate and ink inscription at head of title).
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