Berckenmeyer P.: Le Crieux Antiquaire ou Receuil Geographique et Historique des choses les plus remarquables qu on trouve dans les quatre parties de l Univers…. Leiden 1729 First edition, in 8vo,complete in three volumes continuous pagination,contemporary full leather,text and plates clean and bright, richly illustrated with 26 copper plates, including 4 maps and 22 fine views,overall in very good condition. Paul Ludolph Berckenmeyer (1667-1732) was a German polymath who prepared an early work on history of geography of several European countries in early 18th century. This work is essentially an early travel encyclopedia. He was a pioneer that time,as history of geography developed during the later years of 18th century.Berckenmeyer selected from primary sources, mostly from travelers accounts, the available information regarding the geographical and historical data of different countries (towns, population, main roads, economic facts, historical information about former towns, main monuments and what else found worth of mentioning). His work has been articulated around towns and regions with insertions of historical data, the Levant cover the last part of Europe and the first part of Asia and Africa section.In the chapter for Cyprus, for example,he notes Nicosia, Famagusta, Papho and Limisso with the main characteristics of its town,provides some information for the products of the island and its people, its conquest and occupation by the Turks, the existence of monasteries, and several other information. It is something between a geographical and historical encyclopedia and a compact size travel guide with precious information for Greece and the Levant, as the author gathered information from many primary sources or travel accounts,some from these sources are not available anymore. Specially its compact size and the wide variety of information for several countries could easily characterize it as an early travel guide illustrated with nice engravings, edited by van der Aa who was a master of beautiful engravings. An early publication of the outmost rarity.