Description de l'Arabie [Description of Arabia] by Carsten Niebuhr. Amsterdam: S.J. Baalde / Utrecht: J. van Schoonhoven & Comp., 1774. French. French translation of the book Description of Arabia by the German traveler and cartographer Carsten Niebuhr. The book describes in detail Niebuhr's travels in Arabia, including in Yemen, with a Danish research expedition in the years 1761-1767, introducing the conclusions of studies on the local religion and folklore, agriculture, astronomy and more. Illustrated with 26 plates: a genealogical table of the Royal House of Sanaa (folding) and 25 engravings (some folding, three of them partly hand-colored) – maps, including a large, folding map of Yemen, and illustrations of various sites and the local lifestyles and customs (tools and costumes, military training, ancient inscriptions and coins, Masjid al-Haram of Mecca and The Prophet's Mosque of Medina, and more). Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) a German mathematician, cartographer and traveler. Member of the Danish research expedition to Arabia (in Danish: Den Arabiske Rejse), which was under the patronage of Frederick V of Denmark. He went on research expeditions to the Middle East and Asia and toured Palestine. His studies and maps had great influence, since they were considered precise and reliable, serving as an important source of information on the geography of the Near East. Niebuhr's map of Yemen (the last plate in this book) was particularly significant, being the first map of Yemen ever drawn using modern scientific tools. During their journey in Yemen, Niebuhr and the other members of the expedition visited various Jewish communities – in Jiblah, Mocha, Taiz, Dhamar, Sanaa and elsewhere. This book describes the lifestyle and customs of Yemenite Jews, constituting an interesting source of information for the history of Yemenite Jewry in the second half of the 18th century. See: "The First Scientific Expedition to Southern-Arabia as a Source for the History of the Jews of Yemen" (Hebrew), by Aviva Klein-Franke; in Pe'amim, Studies in Oriental Jewry, no. 18, 1984. XLII, 372 pp. [7] ff. + XXIV plates (engravings and maps) + [2] folding plates (genealogical table facing p. 170 and a map of Yemen facing p. 372). Last page (list of plates) missing. 27 cm. Good condition. Stains. Stamps to one page. Signatures to title page and front endpapers. Tear to edge of folding map of Yemen (not affecting print). Bookplates to inside front board and one endpaper. New binding.