BENYOWSKY (Maurice-Auguste), Count of - Lot 453

BENYOWSKY (Maurice-Auguste), Count of Travels and memoirs of Maurice-Auguste, Count of Benyowsky, magnate of the kingdoms of Hungary and Poland, etc. Containing his military operations in Poland, his exile in Kamchatka, his escape and voyage across the Pacific Ocean, to Japan, Formosa, Canton in China, and details of the establishment he was commissioned by the French ministry to form in Madagascar. Paris, Buisson, [1791]. 2 volumes in-8. Last leaves of tables browned, soiling on a few leaves. Contemporary marbled fawn basane, ornate smooth spines, red title-pieces, black tomaisons, minor defects to headpieces, slight rubbing, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, gilt fillet on edges, corners dulled. First French edition of this rare and curious work. The Hungarian adventurer Móric Agost Benyovszky lived a turbulent life, and was commissioned by the French ministry to found a colony in Madagascar, which he did successfully. He then attempted to conquer the island and died of a bullet at the age of 44 in 1785 ( Sinica, 276). Provenance: Handwritten bookplate on title page "C. n. Amenton, Maire de la Ville d'Auxonne". Printed bookplate of Henri Joliet, a Burgundian bibliophile and enthusiast of local historical curiosities, with the figure CBMHI and the motto "plus penser que dire" ("more to think than to say").