WITH A MAP OF NEW SPAIN
BENZONI, Girolamo; BRY, Theodor De. Americae pars quinta.
[Frankfurt am Main, Johann Feyerabend], 1595.The second or ‘counterfeit’ issue of the first edition of the fifth part of Theodore De Bry’s 8-part series on the discovery of America, complete with map of New Spain, a territory covering the southwestern portion of North America, and extensive engravings based on eyewitness accounts, accompanying text from Girolamo Benzoni’s second book of his ‘Novae Novi Orbis Historiae’.
VOYAGE IN EAST INDIES AND CHINA
FEYNES, Henri de; TOURVAL, Jean Loiseau de. An exact and curious survey of all the East Indies, even to Canton.
London, Thomas Dawson for William Arondell, 1615
First edition of a pioneering first-hand account of explorer Henri de Feynes’ voyage to the East Indies and China, the first Frenchman to visit them. It was translated by Jean Loiseau de Tourval, a Frenchman renowned at the time within English literary circles for his extensive translations, who came to London in 1603 and spied for King James I. In fact, this edition precedes the French original, which was not published until 1630.
EARLY JESUIT MISSIONS TO NEW FRANCE
LE JEUNE, Paul; BREBEUF, Jean de; PERRAULT, Julien. Relation de ce qui s’est passe en la Nouvelle France, en l’anee 1635.
Paris, Sebastien Cramoisy, [1636]
A unique source for the early Jesuit missions to New France, an area which at its peak stretched from the Gulf of St Lawrence to Louisiana. ‘This Relation contains three reports: the first by Le Jeune, dated 28th Aug. 1635, ending on p.112; the second from the Huron country by Brebeuf, pp.113-206; and the third from Cape Breton, by Perrault, pp.207-219’. It paints a picture of the French colonisation of New France, North America and Cape Breton, relations with the inhabitants, and local First Nation culture.
GREENLAND, ARCTIC AND NORTHWEST PASSAGE
[LA PEYRÈRE, Isaac de]. Relation du Groenland
Paris, Augustin Courbé, 1647
First edition of the first work to deal extensively with Greenland (the edition was shared by Courbé with the bookseller Louis Billaine, also at Paris), charmingly illustrated with a map of Greenland and its environs and a folding plate representing a family of Greenlanders, a kayak and a description of a narwhal.
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY LUXURY BRANDING
ORTELIUS, Abraham. Theatrum orbis terrarum, Parergon, Nomenclator
Antwerp, Christophe Plantin, 1584
This edition contains the first Western map of China and Japan as well as the first appearance of new maps of Florida, Peru and North Eastern Mexico.A superb deluxe copy, finely coloured and profusely highlighted in silver and gold, of the first modern world atlas, in a luxury publisher’s binding.
ONE OF THE EARLIEST EDITIONS
POLO, Marco. Delle meraviglie del mondo per lui vedute … Di nuovo ristampato, & osservato l’ordine suo vero nel dire
Venice & Trevigi, Angelo Righettini, [1627?]
One of the earliest editions, including a charming illustration of Marco Polo at the court of the Khan, of the well-known account of his travel in Asia (and particularly China), which was considered legendary by his contemporaries.
BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED RUSSIA
GOETEERIS, Anthonis. Iournael Vande Legatie ghedaen in de Iaren 1615. Ende 1616
Graven-Hage [The Hague], Henricus Hondius, 1640
A good copy of the scarce second edition of this beautifully illustrated travelogue-report of the Dutch embassy to Muscovy in 1615-16. First published by Aert Meuris in 1619, it includes 24 full-page etchings with views of Muscovy and the Swedish territories, including the second oldest view of Tallinn, from the sea. They were sketched ‘to the life’ by Anthonis Goeteeris (fl. C17) and cut by the Dutch Simon Frisius, who travelled with him. Goeteeris was treasurer of the embassy to Muscovy led by the Dutch Commissioner Reynbout van Broderode.
EUROPE, AFRICA AND THE NEAR EAST
LITHGOW, William. The Totall Discourses of the rare Adventures […] from Scotland to the most famous Kingdomes in Europe, Asia and Affrica
London, by I. Okes, 1640
First printed in 1614, this is only the second edition of the complete text which was first published in 1632; the earlier editions are of a much smaller work. Lithgow’s (1582-1645) principal oeuvre – the extraordinary story of his 19 years’ adventurous wanderings throughout the whole of Europe, and much of North Africa and the near East; Rome, Venice, Dalmatia (including notes on Scanderbeg), Corfu, Greece, Crete, Constantinople, Rhodes, Cyprus, the Euphrates, Tripoli, Damascus, Smyrna, The Holy Land, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Malta, Sicily, Calabria, Tunis, Algiers, Austria, Hungary, Transylvania, Poland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Scotland and the northern isles.
JESUIT MISSIONS IN CANADA
BRESSANI, Francesco Giuseppe. Breue relatione d’alcune missioni de’ PP. della Compagnia di Giesù nella Nuoua Francia
Macerata, Per gli heredi d’Agostino Grisei, 1653
Exceptionally rare and important first edition of this work by the Jesuit Bressani giving the first general description in Italian of the Jesuit missions in Canada among the Huron and Iroquois tribes.
ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS
RAMUSIO, Giovanni Battista. Delle navigationi et viaggi…Volume primo. (with) Delle navigationi et viaggio…Volume secondo. (with) Delle navigationi et viaggi…Volume terzo
Venice, Giunta, 1613, 1583, 1606
Remarkably crisp and clean copies of one of the most important collections of voyages and discoveries, beautifully illustrated. As here, most recorded sets are composed of different editions and those like this featuring the most complete editions of each of the individual volumes are rare. 1583 is the first complete (and augmented) edition of vol. 2, and 1606 and 1613 the only complete ones of vols. 1 and 3, adding for example the travels of Barents and Federici for the first time.
ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF NAVIGATION
MORISOT, Claude Barthélemy. Orbis Maritimi sive rerum in mari et littoribus gestarum generalis historia.
Dijon, Pierre Palliot, 1643
A fine copy, crisp and clean, of the first and only edition, first issue, of this lavishly illustrated Americanum – ‘the first naval history […], a veritable naval encyclopaedia’ (Borba de Moraes). The French Neo-Latin poet Claude Barthélemy Morisot (1592-1661) is especially renowned for his alchemical allegory. ‘Orbis Maritimi’ is an encyclopaedia of the sea, navigation, maritime customs and folklore – a fundamental source on maritime law, like Cleriac’s (1647), and travel.
WITH MS. LOVE POEM
PTOLEMY. Geographia
Venice, Vincenzo Valgrisi, 1562
Handsome, complete set of finely engraved maps extracted from the first edition of Giuseppe Moleto’ Latin re-translation of Ptolemy’s Geography. The 64 excellent copperplate maps are reproduced from the Italian edition by Girolamo Ruscelli printed by Valgrisi the year before, with very minor differences. These maps were engraved by the Venetian Giulio Sanuto under the direction of his brother, the cosmographer and cartographer Livio Sanuto (1520-1576). There are 27 old Ptolemaic maps and 37 new ones. The third map represents the World’s hydrography, and it is followed by several maps illustrating Europe, Africa, Asia and north and south America, many focusing in detail on their countries and regions. Remarkably, plate 58 – which contains a map of Sri Lanka – includes a charming illustration of an elephant and it is the only one accompanied by a similar decoration.
WITH THE MAP
MACROBIUS. In Somnium Scipionis expositio
Venice, Philippus Pincius, 29 Oct. 1500
Folio. 2 parts in one, separate registers, ff. XXXVI; LXXXVI. Roman letter, occasional Greek, double column. Decorated initials in different series. 7 ½-page or smaller woodcut diagrams, ½-page woodcut map of the climatic zones. Title and next a bit finger-soiled to outer margin, small clean tear to fore-edge repaired to fols II-IV, intermittent small light water stain to upper blank margin, ink stain to gutter on final ll., outer blank margin spotted, few ll. just toned, occasional slight marginal foxing, light ink splash to K5-6. A very good, well-margined copy in contemporary vellum over boards, lacking ties, early title inked…
RUSSIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
[BARBARO, Giosafat, et al.] Viaggi fatti da Vinetia, alla Tana, in Persia, in India, et in Costantinopoli
Venice, nelle case haer. Aldo Manuzio, 1545
Second and ‘much better printed’ (Renouard 134:18) edition of this collection of travel narratives, edited by Aldo Manuzio. The work includes the accounts of seven adventurous voyages to the East made by Venetian merchants and diplomats during the XV and XVI centuries.
JESUITS AND THE ORIENT
[JESUITS]. Epistolae Indicae et Japanicae
Louvain, apud Rutgerus Velpius, 1570
Scarce first collected edition of Jesuits travel in India, Persia and the Moluccas, with mentions of Japan. It gathers letters written in the 1540s and 50s by eminent Jesuits including Francis Xavier, Gasparus Belga, Henricus Henriquez, Antonius Quadrus, Emanuel Texeira and Petrus Mascarena. Concerned with ethnography, travel, theology and linguistics, these accounts celebrated efforts to defy ‘idolatry’ undertaken through the rigorous Jesuit missionary spirit.