de Bry Th.
Grands Voyages
Parts IV, V & VI in German - Frankfurt, 1594, 1595, 1597, all first editions. In folio, contemporary full calf, blind tooled, gilt and dated: 1599. Five engraved title pages, three coats of arms, 3 folding maps, one folding plate (Cusco) one portrait (Columbus), one half page world map; 74 text engravings. Spine restored. Slightly browned throughout as usual. Maps with new margins, else no repairs. Good, unsophisticated book. (Complete according to Church 183; 186; 188 and Crawford, pp 19-29)
These three volumes are based on Girolami Benzonis Historio del Mondo nuovo, Venice 1565. Benzoni spent 14 years in the Americas and recounts the voyages en conquests of many of the early discoverers like Columbus, Vespucci, Balboa, Pizarro etc. Grand Voyage part IV: Benzoni.
(10) 143pp (24) (including a last genuine blank ). Two engraved title pages, one half page world map with Vespucci, Columbus, one folding map (Caribbean) 24 half page plates. Plates including Puerto Rico; the egg of Columbus; first image ever of a hurricane; Magellans Strait; Cumana (Venezuela), Cartagena (Colombia) and the Spaniard being fed fluid gold (if gold is what you want, you can have it). Grand Voyage part V: Benzoni 115 pp (23 plus 1 blank) Two engraved title pages, 1 folding map (Mexico), 22 half page plates. Plates relate to slave trade; sugar cane; early image of the maroons, Cartagena (Col.), Mexico, Nicaragua and Cibola (seven lost cities in NW America). Grand Voyage part VI: Benzoni (3) 62 leaves ; 30 leaves, last is blank One engraved title page, one title page,
One folding map (Americas) ; folding plate (Cusco) & 28 half page plates Map of the Americas surrounded by the images of main conquistadores (Colon, Vespucci, Pizarro, Cortes). This part is completely dedicated to Pizarros Conquest of Peru.
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de Bry Th.
Grands voyages, partes VII & VIII (Latin)
Frankfurt a/Main, Becker/de Bry, 1599/1599. (VII: Text Schmidel; VIII: only the plates, relating to Argentina) (Crawford, p 139; Church 161 & 163). Folio, full XIX century calf; title in gilt on spine
Large margin copy (34x23 ½ cm). Book VII: engraved titel page, 62 lvs plus one leave blank, 1 text engraving. Book VIII: title page (imagenes), 3 leaves, each with one engraving, 2 blank leaves.
Part VII contains Schmidels text on his long stay in Argentina, Paraguay & Brasil. The plates that come with the text were published by de Bry's widow and sons, after Theodor's death in 1598 in part VIII in 1999 (the Latin version) and in 1600 (the German version). The plates in this present Latin edition precede the German edition and also the Hulsius editions ( Bonifacio de Carill, Monumenta Iconografica...Argentina, 1964) are thus the very first illustrated texts on Argentina ever. De Bry editions of the Grand Voyages after book VI are very rare. This is an exceptionally fresh and undamaged copy.
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Schouten, W.C. Journal ou relation...voyage de Guill. Schouten
Paris, Gobert 1618. (Sabin 77952; Leclerc 1990; not in Tiele; JCB 618/119). In small octavo, full contemporary calf. a 7; A 4; B-P in 8 = 115 leaves; 8 folding maps & plates, plates in old colour. Complete as in Sabin. This little booklet which is complete and in its original binding has been illustrated by an early owner who drew geometrical figures on unprinted leaves, at the end and start of some parts of the book, and in verso of the worldmap. That same person coloured these geometrical figures in three basic colours. The booklet thus became a very personal copy. The plates are in old, possibly contemporary colour, the maps are in black & white. The text leaves are in excellent condition.
“This is mainly a reprint of the Amsterdam French edition of 1618, but with many alterations and improvements in the text” (Sabin). The maps and plates are close copies of those of the first edition but slightly smaller and the views are in reverse. Thus the initial worldmap lacks additional inscriptions like Tropicus Cancri etc as happened only in the very first printed books of the first edition. Both le Maire and Schouten, who split up during the voyage, claimed the discovery. Both wrote their own journal. Schouten was the first to publish his version of the circumnavigation (this book, 1618) while le Maire, who died on the way back home after having been imprisoned in Batavia for breaching the VOC monopoly on sailing through the Street of Magelaans, had his story first published in 1622 (see our copy of the Herrera, 1622). Sabin states that Schoutens journal was quite certainly not written by Schouten but composed by Blaeu from different log books of the journal especially the one of the commissary Arie Claeszoon.
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| Nodal, Bartolome & Gonzalo |
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Nodal, Bartolome & Gonzalo Relacion del viaje...San Vicente
Madrid, Correa de Montenegro, 1621 (Palau 99485; Sabin 55394; JCB; Church 386). Small in quarto, old parchment binding, title in manuscript on spine. 12 nn lvs; 85 folios; 15 folios; 1 lf in manuscript, engraved title page, 3 woodcuts in the text. Folding map and leaf 65 in modern manuscript on old paper. Book in slipcase. Binding with a few, small holes. Manuscript owners name burned little, marginal hole in the tile page. Else clean copy.
First edition of the famous and rare report of the voyage of the Nodal brothers around Cape Horn. The book is more than a diary of the voyage. It provides precise sailing instructions and data on tides and winds and observations on needle variations of the compass sailing so far South. A copy with the original map hardly ever appears, possibly because the maps were taken out on publication in accordance with Spanish secrecy policies at the time. Overall the book is very rare in its first edition.
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Herrera, Antonio de Descriptio Indiae Orientalis...
Amsterdam, Colijn. 1622(Tiele, Memoire 294; Tiele 477; Leighly, 1972 nr 1). Folio (35x23cm), full, blindstamped contemporary calf binding (restored, spine renewed). 4nn leaves (incl. engraved title page); 44 folios (= Herrera) plus 14 double page maps; 3nn leaves plus one double page map (North coast of New Guinea); 29 folios (= le Maire, plus 5 text engravings and two folding maps (South Sea & Street le Maire); 9 folios: summary of various voyages through Magelans Street plus dictionary words used on Solomon Islands; 10 folios: Ordonez: Descriptio Indiae Orientalis; 11 folios: Bertius: Brevis Americae Descriptio; 3 blanks (full of contemporary notes). Slightly soiled copy, partly underlined and with contemporary end notes in Latin. Complete & large paper copy.
This book is important from various points of view.Seen from California this book carries on its frontispiece the first map ever to depict California as an island. There were three editions of this book by Cleaszoon: one in Latin, one in French and one in Dutch. Tiele places the Latin edition as the first one printed, Leighly calls this map the second state and places the French one first.Seen as an Americana the book is important as it carries three descriptions of the Continent: by Herrera (1601); by Ordonez, the other Spanish historian of the Americas and Petrus Bertius, the Dutch cartogapher and mathematician. The first 14 maps represent the second edition ever of the atlas of the Americas by Herrera (1601). Seen from a larger view of Pacific & Australian interest, this book is important for the first description of the discovery of Street le Maire by le Maire himself whereas we also bring a description of that same discovery by his co traveler Schouten who contested the honour of that discovery.
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Schouten, W.C. Diarium vel descriptio....Australi
Amsterdam, L. Vlasbloem 1662. (Sabin 77961; Tiele memoires Schouten z, pp 52). In small quarto, later vellum binding. 4 nn leaves, 6 folding maps & plates, 1 folding map added in manuscript on old paper72 pages, last page blank. Complete according to tabellae.
This is the third reprint by Dirk Vlasbloem of Schoutens journal in Latin (first & second, both 1648). All of these Vlasbloem editions are extremely rare. Tiele and the index of this book gives 6 plates for this Vlasbloem edition which would thus be complete. In our copy the map of the Southsea is added in manuscript. Sabin states that “The map of the South Sea is evidently not included in the plate numbers on page 71 and is probably lacking in some copies. There is no doubt however of its belonging to the book”. Both le Maire and Schouten, who split up during the voyage, claimed the discovery. Both wrote their own journal. Schouten was the first to publish his version of the circumnavigation (this book, 1618) while le Maire, who died on the way back home after having been imprisoned in Batavia for breaching the VOC monopoly on sailing through the Street of Magelaans had his story first published in 1622 (see our copy of the Herrera, 1622). Sabin states that Schoutens journal was quite certainly not written by Schouten but composed by Blaeu from different log books of the journal especially the one of the commissary Arie Claeszoon.
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Condamine, M. de la Relation d'un voyage de l'Amérique Méridionale
Paris, Pissot, 1745(Sabin 38484)(1) 216 pp.(4) 1 folding map, contemporary full calf binding, complete
La Condamine travelled down the Amazon guided by manuscript Jesuit maps (Samuel Fritz) in 1743,. after working for years on establishing the equator and the circumference of the world, sent by the French King.
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Niebuhr, Carsten Description de l'Arabie
Copenhague, Moller 1773. First French edition (first German, 1772, also in Copenhagen) (Gay 3589; Brunet 20581; PMM...) In quarto; contemporary full calf, spine gilt. 24nn leaves; 372 pp; 1 nn leave (fe de errata), 7 maps and 18 plates, some folding (incl. two sheets on Arab calligraphy, handcoloured and including two folding maps: Yemen (handcoloured in outline) and the Red Sea). Front plate loosening itself from spine. Else mint copy.
Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) led a Danish expedition into Arabia & Yemen. The expedition took Niebuhr to Yemen (1761-1763), from Yemen to India, Bombay (1763-64) and from India into Mesopotamie and Persia (1764-67). His report gave Europe the first comprehensive description of the region from a XVIII century, rational viewpoint . He was also the first European to report on the spread of the Wahhabi revolution, an Islamic fundamentalist movement that had tremendous influence on the history of Arabia (Waldman, 1992). His map of Yemen is the first scientifically based map of that country.
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Vargas y Ponce, J. de Relacion del ultimo viaje...Magellanes.. & Apendice
Madrid, Ibarrra, 1788 & Ibarra 1793. (Palau 352514 y -515; Sabin 16765 & 1729; Hill 1756) In quarto; contemporary full calf. 3 leaves; 16 pp: 359 pp; 2 lvs; 128 pp. Portrait (Magellanus). Five folded maps and five folded tables. Complete. Mint internal condition, including all the maps.
This book closes the Spanish chapter in the Strait of Magelans which began with Magelans himself (1519) and included the famous Nodal brothers voyage (1616).
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Marcoy, P Travels in South America...
London, Blacky & Son. 1875(Sabin, 44508)Two volumes in cuarto. Richly engraved linnen over boards. 10 maps & 525 woodcut illustrations.First edition in English (French 1869)First and last leaves old repairs to tiny tears. Good clear copy without foxing.
Famous travel overland form Lima to the mouths of the Amazon (Brasil), richly illustrated.
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