Savary Jacques: Le parfait negociant ou instruction generale pour ce qui regarde le commerce des marchandises de France et des pays Etrabgers…. avec un traite du commerce qui se fait sur la mer Mediterranee dans toutes les echelles du Levant, a Smirne, a Alexandrie, a Chipre , a Angora, a Constantinople… Paris 1749-1752. Third [Nouvelle] edition (first in 1675/6) of the only detailed commercial manual for the Levant published during the 18th century. In 4to 23 x 18 cm, modern full leather with minor wear, spines richly gilt, complete in two volumes. Volume one: portrait, title in red and black [36], 368 p., 488 p., 204 p., and two engraved plates. Volume two: title in red and black [42], 748 p. Some light spotting and foxing, text clean and bright. Overall in very good condition, a bulky set. The Perfect Trader (Parfait Négociant) was a practical commercial book for trade. Although covering several European destinations of French commerce and some intercontinental routes, a substantial part is devoted to the Levantine trade. It is a unique source, describing in exhaustive detail the ports, products (from soap to alum) for import and export in each place, quantities of merchandise, agents, consulates, taxes, money regulations, administrative procedures, trade routes, and many other practical details that a trader needed to know, including population and customs. An important chapter covers trade in Smyrna, then the main base for Levantine commerce. Several other cities in Asia Minor, such as Angora, Scala Nova (Kuşadası), and Beybazar (in central Anatolia), were also important commercial centers at the time. The work also covers numerous ports in Syria and Egypt, Cyprus, various Greek regions, Constantinople, and the trade between Venice and Constantinople. The book was constantly updated and revised, approximately every generation, and continued to be published into the 19th century with later editions. As a practical manual and not a library work, copies became extremely rare. An invaluable source for the economy and trade of the Levant, and one of the most important commercial manuals of the mid-18th century.