Sales catalogue 534: Maggs Bros

Date:
1930
Reference:
WA/HMM/CM/Sal/13/89
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sales catalogue 534: Maggs Bros. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/180 page 6
    i627 A.Dr[soo) BAYFIUS WZ.) “De Re Navali,-ctc, With 23 woodcuts of early ships, mostly galleys, and several other illus- trations. Small 4to, fine copy in dark green levant morocco, gilt back, sides and edges by L. Broca. Basle, 1537. ee eae Lazare de Baif was a French Savant and diplomat. He was Councillor to Francis I and was also French Ambassador to Venice and Germany. He died in 1547. 1537 A.D. [507] BAIF (Lazare de). De Re Navali. t2mo, old calf. Basle, 1537. it 15s. This celebrated early treatise forms a sort of history of early navigation, based largely on the writings of the early Classic authors. 1546 A.D. [508] FOCARD (Jacques). Paraphrase de |’Astrolabe, contenant: Les Principes de Geometrie. La Sphere. L’Astrolabe, ou, declaration des choses celestes. Le Miroir du Monde, ou, exposition des parties de la Terre. With various Geographical and Astronomical diagrams, including 2 revolving diagrams. Small 8vo, magnificent copy in full levant morocco, gilt, g.e., by Cham- bolle-Duru. Lyons, Jean de Tournes, 1546. {52 Ios. Harrisse 273. On page 34 is a small world-map, including America, and on page 155 occurs the following remarkable statement :—‘‘ Telle est la description des parties du monde, selon le trés excellent Ptolomée, et les autres anciens Geographes: depuis lesquels ne s’est gueres trouvé terre, dicte continens, tant deca, que dela |’equinoc- tial, excepté un appellée Amerique, de laquelle ne sommes encores bien asseurés : d’Isles plusieurs, lesquelles je tais & cause de briefveté. L’Amerique (laquelle est appellée l’Ameque) te descriray succinctement, suyvant la metode de Ptolomée, n’ayant egard @ tous ceulx qui ont navigé, et pour le jourd’huy navigent a4 inten- tion seulement de traffiquer, ou gaigner, et d’icelle parlent obscurement, tellement qu’il fault presque deviner ce que par leurs songes veulent dire.’’ The author then goes on to say that America les to the West and South of Europe, that the Equinoctial Americans were cannibals, and that Brazil is on the tropic of Capricorn. Towards the Antartic pole the people are giants (an early reference to the Pata- gonians), and in the far west they are cannibals. That part is named Peru save towards the North, where is Parias, adjacent to which comes Dariana (Darien or Panama). Htc,
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