[JESUIT LETTERS] Lettres ?difiantes et Curieuses, ?crites des Missions ?trangeres. Nouvelle ?dition. Paris: J. G. Merigot, [1780/83]. 26 volumes (volumes VI to IX inclusive to America). 8vo. Edited by Y. M. M. de Querbeuf. Text in French. Half-titles. Numerous folding maps, tables and plates including the important Passage par Terre a la Californie map by Eusebio Francisco Kino in Vol. VIII, establishing that California was not an island which remained the most accurate map of the area until the 20th century, woodcut head and tailpieces. Contemporary calf (dry rot to covers, several detached boards, backstrips severely chipped with losses). Provenance: ex-library copies with bookplates from The American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia. Howes L-299; Sabin 40698. According to Sabin, ?This edition is generally preferred to the original, because it has the advantage of being systematically arranged.?