Journal du Voyage de Siam,
fait par M. L'Abbe de Choisy. Nouvelle Edition, augmentee d'une Table des Matieres. Trevoux Par La Compagnie 1741
Nouvelle edition, augmentée d'une table des matieres, 12mo, pp.[ii], 512. A very good crisp copy bound in later full speckled calf, spine gilt, all edges red. The last few pages of the table of contents are bound out of order but all are present.
Cordier 942
The new edition of Choisy's account of his journey to Thailand with Chevalier de Chaumont, the first French ambassador for King Louis XIV, first published in 1687. François Timoléon, abbé de Choisy (1644-1724) was famous in his youth for being cross-dressed by his mother for the amusement of Louis XIV and his court. Madame de La Fayette convinced him to continue his use of women's clothes and make-up into adulthood, gaining a reputation for using androgyny to cause scandal at court, especially as he was an ordained priest. Modern historians have cast doubt over the extent of this reputation, suggesting it more likely that these were rumours invented by his opponents. Alexandre, Chevalier de Chaumont (1640 – 28 January 1710 in Paris) was the first French ambassador for King Louis XIV in Siam in 1685. He was accompanied on his mission by Choisy in his unsuccessful attempt to convert King Narai to Catholicism and broker trade. Written in diary form, this work was a great success in Europe due to its energetic and detailed account of Thailand and its inhabitants.