This collection includes many lavishly illustrated travel books, most of which date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The travel books bear witness of the broad interests and the highly international orientation of the Jesuits. The books do not only address Catholic missionary zeal, but also deal with trade missions and scientific expeditions.
This collection includes travel guides and books related to tourism. The travel guide is closely connected with the emergence of modern tourism in Europe from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, when an extensive railway network came into being. The travel guide defined ‘the tourist gaze’, thus playing a major role in establishing what nowadays we consider natural and cultural heritage in Europe.
