The Book of Ser Marco Polo (1875)

The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian is a nineteenth-century edition of the famous travelogue written by Rustichello da Pisa and Marco Polo, describing the travels of the latter through Asia, Persia, China and Indonesia between 1271 and 1291. The book secured lasting fame for its editor, the prominent geographer and literary scholar Henry Yule, who was awarded the founder's medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his efforts. The two-volume work, the result of Yule's research in Palermo, Venice, Florence, Paris and London and of extensive correspondence with scholars around the world, has long been considered an authoritative source on Polo's travels. Volume I contains Books One and Two of the travelogue and contains descriptions of the lands of the Middle East and Central Asia that Polo encountered en route to China. Book II covers Polo's time in China and the court of Kublai Khan.