First edition of the major work on the Comoro Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It was written by Alfred Gevrey as compiled from his notes. He was an imperial judge in Mayotte from 1866 to 1868, who visited all other Comoro Islands during those two years. At that moment Mayotte, the easternmost island in the Comoros, was a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. Based upon his observations, he describes not only the archipelago itself, its geology, meteorology, flora and fauna, people and various aspects of their culture, but also its development into one of the most important trading ports in the significant Indian Ocean trade between East Africa and Asian ports in India (among others Calcutta and Bombay) and Africa. It also contains a sketch of the conditions of slaves as observed by Gevrey. Because of its great detail and accuracy, Gevrey's description of the Comoros is still considered one of the most important works on this archipelago, which was for years beloved as a colony due to its favourable location as trading port. It was printed in Puducherry by the government printer A. Saligny, illustrating the interest in the islands from a French-Indian perspective.
Presentation copy from the author, Alfred Gevrey, to "Monsieur le Docteur Allard" with his inscription on a piece of paper mounted on the half-title. Binding slightly worn around the edges. Lacking the first leaf after the title, containing only the name (of the dedicatee?) "A.M. Boisselet". Some very minor foxing, staining and browning in the first and last few leaves, but overall in good condition. Cf. Allibert, Claude and Pierre Verrin, "The early pre-Islamic history of the Comores Islands: links with Madagscar and Africa", in: Julian Reade (ed.), Indian Ocean in antiquity, (2009), p. 469; Gill Shepherd, "The Comorians and the East African slave trade", in: James L. Watson (ed.), Asian & African systems of slavery (1980), pp. 81-84.