Lot 115
Bell, John
Travels from St. Petersburg in Russia, to Diverse Parts of Asia
The Library of James Stirling, Mathematician
Auction: 23 October 2025 from 13:00 GMT
Description
Containing a Journey to Ispahan ... Part of a Journey to Pekin in China, through Siberia ... The Continuation of the Journey between Mosco and Pekin ... A Journey from Mosco to Derbent in Persia ... A Journey from St. Petersburg to Constantinople. Glasgow: for the author by Robert and Andrew Foulis, 1763. First edition, 2 volumes, 4to (23 x 17cm), contemporary speckled calf, red and black morocco labels, x 357 [2], [2] 426 [2] pp., volume 1 with engraved folding map frontispiece and terminal advertisement leaf, volume 2 with terminal errata leaf, bindings slightly rubbed, partial splitting to joints, map unevenly folded and creased [Cross, In the Lands of the Romanovs B23; ESTC T99651; Gaskell 415]
Footnote
After completing his medical studies, Stirlingshire-born John Bell (1691-1780) secured a letter of introduction to the chief physician to Tsar Peter I of Russia. Soon after arriving in Russia he was included in an embassy sent by Peter to the shah of Persia. 'On his return Bell learned of another mission, to China, on which he was included following the recommendation of the British ambassador. Bell's account of his remarkable journey is recorded in his one publication, Travels from St Petersburg in Russia to Various Parts of Asia (1763). Despite the tedium of the sixteen-month expedition, Bell's account of the journey to Kazan and through Siberia to China is the most complete and interesting part of his travels. Of particular note are his descriptions of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese wall, and his residence in Peking (Beijing)' (ODNB).