HASSELQUIST (Frédéric). LINNÉ (Carl von). Voyage dans le Levant dans les années 1749, 50, 51 et 52. Paris, Delalain, 1769; 2 vol. in-12 (174 x 99 mm), shagreened basane, smooth spines decorated with gilt fishnets and roses, garlands on the boards (Period bindings). First French edition. At the request of Linnaeus, whose disciple he was, Hasselquist left for the Levant to study the flora and fauna of the Holy Land. He visited Asia Minor, Egypt, Jerusalem, Jericho, the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Nazareth, etc., collected a large number of specimens and notes but, exhausted by the journey, died in Smyrna in 1752. It was Linnaeus who published this work on the work of his friend. According to Blackmer (no. 792), it is the first systematic natural history of the Holy Land. A very fine copy.