LA CONDAMINE (Charles-Marie de). Relation abrégée d'un voyage fait dans l'intérieur de l'Amérique méridionale, depuis la côte de la mer du Sud, jusqu'aux côtes du Brésil et de la Guiane, en descendant la riviere des Amazones. Paris, veuve Pissot, 1745. 2 parts in one volume, in-8, marbled calf, spine decorated, spotted edges (Binding of the period). First edition, illustrated with a folded map of the course of the Amazon, engraved by Delahaye after La Condamine, and a folded plate depicting the riot in the Cuenca bullring in the second part, entitled: Lettre à Madame *** sur l'émeute populaire excitée en la ville de Cuenca au Pérou le 29 d'août 1739... One of France's great voyages of scientific exploration: in order to determine the exact shape of the Earth, La Condamine (1701-1774) undertook an expedition to the Andes and Amazonia. He recounts the adventures of an epic journey that was to last nine years, describes his descent of the Amazon on a raft, offers for the first time a description of rubber, and so on. Covers and corners worn, minor wetness in the margins of a few leaves. Sabin, nos. 38484 and 38481 - Borba de Moraes, I, 446 - Chadenat, no. 2123.