First (and only) edition in French. Archduke Rudolf set out on his tour of the Middle East in 1881, travelling first from Vienna to Miramar, Corfu, Alexandria and Cairo. From there the group sailed up the Nile to Aswan and Memphis, then journeyed on to Port Said, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Holy Land, returning to Vienna from Haifa via Cattaro (Kotor), Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Trieste. This outstanding and unique copy in a sumptuous Viennese binding, in immaculate condition, was created for Anton Ritter von Beck (1812-95), then director of the governments Imperial printing office in Vienna.
With a long inscription by the translator, the Baron de Montandin, to "Monsieur le Hof Rath Anton Chevalier Von Beck" on the flyleaf, dated Vienna, 28 February 1885. Some slight stains in the guards of the etchings, otherwise a very clean copy. Hamann, Habsburger-Lexikon, pp. 415 ff.; ÖBL IX, pp. 315 ff.; Wurzbach VII, pp. 145 ff.