KEATE (George) - WILSON (Henry). Relation des Iles Pelew. Paris, Maradan, 1793; 2 vol. in-8 (190 x 122 mm), marbled green calf, smooth spines decorated with gilt medallions, red morocco titles and goblets, fillets on covers (period bindings). Second edition of the French translation, revised by Mirabeau. One map and 16 plates, 12 of which are folded. Located between the Philippines and the Carolinas, the Pelew Islands were still unexplored when Captain Wilson was shipwrecked there. The population, reputed to be cruel and anthropophagous, proved to be full of good spirit and moral rectitude: "one of the ornaments of humanity". The book describes for the first time the way of life of these civilised savages, their political organisation, their language (a Pelew-French lexicon occupies 17 pp.) and their means of subsistence (recipes for jam and preserved fish). The illustration includes several views of the main island and its capital as well as 3 portraits: Prince Lee Boo, King Abba-Thullée and the beautiful Ludée, one of his wives. A VERY FINE COPY IN VERY FINE AND FRESH CONTEMPORARY BINDINGS.