{"title":"Africana","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfrican history, cultures, literature, exploration, politics, peoples and its diaspora.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"caesar-caius-julius","title":"CAESAR, Caius Julius","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn early edition of Ortica's translation, first recorded in 1517, which dominated the Italian market in the first half of the C16. In this edition the translation is still apparently unfinished, after Book VI Ortica includes a letter apologising for omitting his version of Book VII, which was imperfect and interrupted. The history of Caesar's military campaigns in Gaul, Spain, Africa, Egypt and the Civil Wars, with their terse style and lively narrative, have, in their Latin original, been a perennial favorite with schoolmasters. In the vernacular the book could be used as a crib, and at the beginning the translator provides a vocabulary of Latin and Italian place names, explaining that it is so short because he has not had more time, with all the work of translating, transcribing and having the edition printed; he promises that his versions of the Lives of Plutarch and Helius Spatianus, which he is in the process of writing, will have longer lists. The travails of the C16 literary hack! \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n The three half-page illustrations of siege engines, the \"vinea\", the \"ariete\" and the \"testudine\", and the one of the bridge half-constructed in the middle of the Rhine, which all follow the vocabulary, are very jolly. \u003cbr\u003e\n The binding is curious. It is C16 Italian morocco but over bds of the thickness we would normally associate only with pigskin. Did the binder or his client have a change of heart half way? Is it a provincial production of the far north Italian where German style bindings were more common? Were there once many bindings like this but very few survivors?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CAESAR, Caius Julius","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816124064079,"sku":"SN2392","price":2250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/Caesar-2392-1-copy.jpg?v=1781795282"},{"product_id":"dionysius-periegetes-and-pomponius-mela","title":"DIONYSIUS PERIEGETES and POMPONIUS MELA","description":"\u003cp\u003eAccurate edition of the two important geographical texts of antiquity, used for centuries as textbooks on the subject. Dionysius Periegetes (2nd century AC) was a Greek poet, who epitomised in verse the geographical knowledge of his time, exerting great influence over Roman and medieval scholarship through the Latin transpositions of his work made by Avenius and Priscian. Pomponius Mela (died c.45 AD) was the most prominent of Latin geographers, largely employed as an authoritative source by Pliny in the geographical section of his Historia naturalis. Following coastlines, Mela provides a ground-breaking description of Western Europe and British Isles, though less detailed as regards Asia and Africa than his Greek colleagues, especially Strabo. With the help of his brother-in-law, the brilliant humanist Isaac Causabon (1559-1614), Henri Estienne made relevant additions and improvements to previous editions, including his father s. The volume also includes Aethicus s Cosmographia, Solinus s Polyhistor and Eustathius of Thessalonika s commentaries on Periegetes, as well as a detailed annotations on the Greek text by Estienne himself and other scholars.  The Greek ex libris pasted on title ( from the [books] of Blancardus ) is a special mark of affection for the book from its owner. It is notoriously difficult to date these printed slips, but the typeface and ageing of paper suggest this label is c. 17th. As the owner was clearly a scholar of the Greek language, the only plausible  Blancardus  is Nikolaas Blankaart (1624-1703), who commonly used the Latin transliteration of his surname. A talented Dutch classicist educated in Leiden under the supervision of Salmasius, Blankaart edited Florus, Curtius Rufus and Arrian along with some dictionaries and repertoires of Byzantine grammarians. He is reported to have drawn maps of Asia, Europe and Africa relying on ancient sources (D. van Hoogstraten, Groot algemeen woorden-boek, II, 1725, p. 269), with this book almost certainly playing a crucial role in the endeavour.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DIONYSIUS PERIEGETES and POMPONIUS MELA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816134484303,"sku":"L2094b","price":1750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L2090-Dionysius-1-e1466262078303.jpg?v=1781795213"},{"product_id":"hamond-walter","title":"HAMOND Walter","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst edition of Hamond s fascinating account of the island of Madagascar; sent by the East India Company to assess the feasibility of colonising the island, Hamond produced these two reports. The first comprises a description of the island, its climate and indigenous people while the second relays the benefits it would have to offer as an outpost for servicing the company s ships en route for the Persian Gulf and the Far East.  Hamond, author and explorer, published a translation of Ambroise Par é s  Methode de traicter les Playes faictes par Harquebuses et aultres batons a feu,  1617, 4to. He was in the service of the East India Company, and was employed by them to explore Madagascar and report on the advisability of annexing the island, of which he gave a glowing description.  DNB Hamond spent four months on the island, as a surgeon. However his treatise portrays an exaggerated prospect of it, stating that  for wealth and riches, no Island in the world can be preferred before it. As for gold, silver, pearle and precious jems, questionlesse the Island is plentifully stored with them  great quantities of Aloes  the first fruits of a most plentifull harvest, which is better than the gleanings of America .  Early descriptions of Madagascar and it s vegetation illustrate the kind of attractions that tempted colonisers and traders to undertake arduous voyages to the island in pursuit of advancement. Walter Hammond, .. spent some time on Madagascar in 1630, (and) published a pamphlet in 1640 entitled  A paradox .   He drew attention to its strategic use as a useful port of call to and from the East Indies, and to the fertility of its soil. By this time, Hammond had resigned his post in the company and was clearly writing tracks to encourage rivals to challenge his monopoly. His next attempt,  Madagascar the richest and most fruitful island in the world  (1643), also makes a strong case for colonisation.  Margarette Lincoln. British Pirates and Society, 1680-1730 \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n  In his desire to present Madagascar and its allegedly primitive peoples as a semblance of the Garden of Eden, Hamond s writing can be seen as a precursor of the eighteenth-century salute to the noble savage  (ODNB). \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n A very good copy of this fascinating pamphlet one of the earliest descriptions of Madagascar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HAMOND Walter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816139465039,"sku":"L2519","price":9500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/Screenshot-2024-08-06-at-11.18.45.webp?v=1781795186"},{"product_id":"caesar-julius","title":"CAESAR, Julius.","description":"\u003cp\u003eFinely bound comprehensive edition of the most iconic amongst Roman generals and statesmen. Caesar s own account of his military campaigns in Gaul, Spain, Africa, Egypt and the Civil Wars have been a perennial textbook to learn a terse and lively Latin. This edition features: three large, detailed and very neatly engraved maps of the Roman Empire, Gaul and Iberia; several fragments of Caesar s letters and orations collected from contemporary or slightly later sources (e.g., Cicero, Sallust, Suetonius, Plutarch); a short geographical commentary written by Aldo Manuzio the Younger (1547-1597); a table showing the breakdown of the Latin and vernacular names of the cities mentioned in the book and drawing from Abrahm Orthelius s Thesaurus geographicus. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n This handsome copy belonged to Sir John Rivers of Chafford, 1st Baronet (c.1579-1651), whose arms are gilt on the covers. Little is known about John s life as about his library. He owed his fortune to his grandfather and namesake, a self-made man able to climb the ladder of Elizabethan society, becoming Sheriff and Mayor of London, Alderman of various city wards and obtaining a knighthood.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CAESAR, Julius.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816144511311,"sku":"L2247","price":3250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/DSC_8452.jpg?v=1781794949"},{"product_id":"ramusio-giovanni-battista","title":"RAMUSIO, Giovanni Battista","description":"\u003cp\u003eRemarkably 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 (Brunet, IV, 1100-1101), adding for example the travels of Barents and Federici for the first time. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n Born in Treviso, Giovanni Battista Ramusio (1485-1557) worked as secretary and envoy to Alvise Mocenigo, having access to the latest information on expeditions and travels of exploration reaching Venice from abroad. First published by Ludovico Giunta in three separate volumes between 1550 and 1565,  Delle navigationi  was a collection of the first-hand Portuguese, Spanish, Greek, Dutch (all translated in the Italian vernacular) and Italian accounts of voyages to Asia, Africa and America published up to that time, illustrated with bespoke maps the first work of its kind. The first volume is mainly devoted to  countries which have been known for 300 years , e.g., from Africa (and the kingdom of Prester John) to the Eastern Indies. The second features the accounts of Marco Polo on the Tartars and China (with the first mention of tea in Europe), as well as notices on Persia, Armenia and Paolo Giovio s ground-breaking work on Muscovy. The third is devoted to the world  unknown to the ancients  Columbus s navigations, Cort éz and Pizarro s expeditions, and notices on Mexico, Peru and other American kingdoms. In addition to engaging information on local flora, fauna, politics and customs,  Delle navigationi  provided accurate topographical information through handsome and innovative fold-out woodcut and copperplate maps illustrating Cuzco in Peru, Nuova Francia (Newfoundland) the second separate map of Northeast America with the colony of Montreal (the earliest printed such topographical plan for North America), Brazil, Sumatra (the first map of any island in South-Eastern Asia), Eastern Africa, one of the most complete maps of the Western Hemisphere, and a plan of the Mexican city of Temistitan. Through their re-prints of 1606 and 1613, the Giunta capitalised on the continuing commercial success of collections of travel writings epitomised by Richard Hakluyt s  Principal Navigations  (1589), the original model of which was, as it were, Ramusio s work.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"RAMUSIO, Giovanni Battista","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816154964303,"sku":"K128","price":39500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/IMG_5352-copy.jpg?v=1781794920"},{"product_id":"leo-africanus-al-hassam-bid-mahammad-al-wazzan-al-zaygati","title":"LEO AFRICANUS [AL-HASSAM BID MAHAMMAD AL-WAZZAN AL ZAYGATI]","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe important first edition in English, translated by John Pory, of this seminal classic of African topography and ethnography. Leo Africanus was an early C16 traveller who recorded in great detail the life of many remote North African kingdoms. He was born in Granada but in the 1490s his family moved to Fez in Morocco where Leo ultimately entered the service of the Sultan who sent him on commercial and diplomatic missions across northern and western Africa. In 1518 he was returning by sea from Istanbul and was captured, perhaps by Knights of Malta, who took him to Rome. There, under the patronage of Pope Leo IX he composed the present description of Africa, first published in Italian in 1550. It was a bestseller, put Leo at the centre of Roman intellectual life and remained one of Europe s principal sources of knowledge of the Arab-African world for the next 400 years. It was translated into English in 1600 by John Pory. Pory s letter  To the Reader  tells the fascinating story of Leo s life   a tale of complex interaction between Europe and Africa, Islam and Christianity ... This book was important in that it was written by a Moorish man and well regarded by scholars. However Pory is aware that some readers at this time might distrust the writings of a  More  and a  Mahumetan  (or Muslim), and he reassures them of Leo s sophistication: his  Parentage, Witte, Education, Learning, Emploiments, Travels, and his conversion to Christianitie .  (BL). \u003cbr\u003e\n It is very probable that Shakespeare was influenced by this work in his portrayal of Othello.  Pory s account of Leo s marvellous escape from  so manie thousands of imminent dangers  might remind us of Othello s tale of  hair-breadth escapes i  th  immanent deadly breach . Like Leo, Othello tells of being  sold to slavery  and we later learn that Othello was also a former Muslim, now baptised as a Christian. In his description of African people, Leo takes pains to give a balanced perspective, though it seems nonetheless stereotyped and prejudiced. Celebrating their  vertues , he says Africans are  Most honest people   destitute of fraud and guile . But  no nation in the world is so subject to jealousie  (p. 40). In the unpleasant description of their  vices , he says they are  very proud and high-minded, and woonderfully addicted unto wrath . They are also  so credulous that they beleeve matters impossible which are told to them  (p. 41) and promiscuous in wooing  divers maides  before settling on a wife (pp.41 42). It is hard not see these qualities reflected in Shakespeare s Othello, at least as Iago describes him. Exploiting the stereotypes that define the Moor in Venice, Iago talks of the  free and open nature  that makes Othello think  men honest  when they only  seem so . He tells Roderigo he suspects  the lusty Moor  of sleeping with Emilia, and plans to  put him into jealousy so strong  that his anger will cloud his judgement. Pory s English translation (1600) was printed in the same year as the Moroccan ambassador s visit to London to negotiate a military alliance between English and African forces, with the hope of conquering Spain. In his letter to Sir Robert Cecil, Elizabeth I s secretary, Pory exploits this opportunity to market the book as particularly current, saying  At this time especially I thought [it] would proove the more acceptable .   (BL). \u003cbr\u003e\n A handsome copy of this rare and influential first English edition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LEO AFRICANUS [AL-HASSAM BID MAHAMMAD AL-WAZZAN AL ZAYGATI]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57816166629711,"sku":"K178","price":25000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/IMG_20190815_124843.jpg?v=1781794869"},{"product_id":"ortelius-abraham-1","title":"ORTELIUS, Abraham.","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis 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. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n 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. A scholar, but primarily a publisher, Ortelius made his atlas attractive to the contemporary mannerist and baroque taste embellishing his maps with complex frames, countless ornamental illustrations and minute particulars. For this reason, the  Theatrum  was the most expensive book of its day and one of the most desired. Lavishly illuminated copies were hand-coloured by the  afzetters  (artists) of the prestigious school of Antwerp. Some of them were produced for presentation to important figures, but many were made on commission for wealthy clients and customised according to their specific requirements. Often, clients would send their requests for illuminated copies to Ortelius in person, who worked for many years as a decorator of maps himself. This copy is outstanding as every plate has details highlighted in gold and silver: the lettering, scales and compasses, fine borders of cartouches, sea waves, ship flags, sea creatures and the small characters  clothes. Such pervasive and expert application of gold and silver is rare, as it was the costliest form of decoration. The only comparable example sold at auction in recent years was from the magnificent library of the bibliophile and map collector Lord Wardington (Sotheby s, 10 Oct. 2006, 355). \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n Abraham Ortels, known as Ortelius (1527-1598) was a Brabantian cartographer and geographer. In 1547, he began his career as a map illuminator at Antwerp, where he also worked as a bookseller and print dealer. He travelled extensively around Europe, especially with the great cartographer and friend Mercator, and was appointed geographer to Philip II king of Spain. The  Theatre of the World  (first published in 1570), is a  landmark in cartographic publication  (PMM) which marks the beginning of the golden age of Dutch cartography. Ortelius called his atlas a  theatre  (Theatrum), because   rather than a simple collection of maps   it was conceived as the stage of a beautiful spectacle that takes the reader on an imaginary voyage throughout the entire known world. For this monumental project, he gathered individual maps of cartographers from all over Europe, reviewed and redrew them himself, then had them engraved by the artist Frans Hogenberg (1535 1590). For the first time, a complete picture of the globe was presented and equal attention was dedicated to every part of it, with detailed descriptions and scholarly citations. The structure of the atlas is simple: it opens with a map of the world, followed by continental maps of Europe, Asia, Africa and America, then it shows smaller regions within each continent. At the end,  Nomenclator Ptolemaicus  is a long list of geographical names. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n  Theatrum  was an immediate success, and it became so popular that   between 1570 and 1612   over forty editions were produced in many different languages (Latin, Dutch, French, German and Spanish). This is the second Latin edition by Plantin, considerably improved and enlarged from the previous, comprising 112 double-page plates (the first edition contained 53) of which 24 are new additions. Among them, number 93 is the first map of China and Japan printed in Europe, remarkably containing Chinese characters in its description. Also new is number 8, depicting Peru, Florida and Guastecan (one of four plates dedicated to the Americas in this edition). Ortelius gives a colourful description of these regions: Peru is  the richest in gold of the entire world  and the inhabitants of Florida are  barbarians ( ) they ate spiders, ants, lizards, snakes and all sorts of venomous creatures and insects . Eight new plates were added to the  Parergon  (here in its second edition), an extremely fascinating section of the atlas with historical maps illustrating the geography of Roman times. Ortelius is the only Renaissance atlas maker who mentions his sources, and the list of contributors ( catalogum auctorum ) in this edition counts 134 names. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n Ortelius  example was followed by generations of cartographers and his maps were consulted and studied non only by geographers. The maps of Asia and Africa displayed in this edition inspired the geography of Christopher Marlowe s great play Tamburlaine. The influence of  Theatrum  was immense, ultimately shaping the accepted vision of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ORTELIUS, Abraham.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859647603023,"sku":"K171","price":195000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/1-1-1.jpg?v=1781793729"},{"product_id":"rosaccio-giuseppe","title":"ROSACCIO, Giuseppe","description":"\u003cp\u003eA lovely collection of three fascinating treatises on chronology, geography, geology and astronomy, with charming naïf illustrations. In the first work, the author records: “1492: in this year, Cristoforo Colombo of Genova discovered the New World”. These Venetian editions of 1597 are extremely rare.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGiuseppe Rosaccio (c. 1520\/50-1620) was an Italian physician, astronomer, cosmographer, geographer and traveller. Details of his early life and education are debated; traditionally, he was born in Pordenone (Friuli) and graduated in medicine and philosophy in Padua. He frequented the courts of northern Italy and eventually settled in Florence. An extremely prolific author, Rosaccio wrote some 40 works on a variety of subjects, including medicine, human physiognomy, history, travel and especially the natural sciences. He also published some free-standing planispheres and maps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n \u003cp\u003e‘The six ages of the world’ is a treatise which summarises the history of the world according to the ‘six ages’ of the traditional Christian chronology. It is divided into six section, each dedicated to one age: the creation of the sky and the earth by God (first), Adam and his descendants (second), the Flood (third), the monarchies (fourth), the life of Christ (fifth), the lives of the Popes and Princes up until year 1596 (sixth). Within each section, Rosaccio lists the most remarkable events year by year: e.g. the accession and death of popes and emperors, plagues and faminse, and countless bizarre and prodigious events (in year 600, in Rhodes it rained blood, in Italy milk; in 1165, in Sicily a river was flowing upwards, in the Flanders a woman gave birth to snakes).\u003c\/p\u003e \n\n \u003cp\u003e‘Theatre of the sky and the earth’ is concerned with the structure universe and everything in it. Rosaccio describes the celestial spheres – illustrated in a large woodcut – their position and movement, and mentions the dimensions of Hell and Purgatory. The Earth is illustrated in a charming planisphere, and four double-page plates are dedicated to the known continents: Europe, Africa, Asia and America. Each continent is also described (a note about Africa reads: “Africa is named from the word ‘Afros’, which signifies ‘scare’, because of the quantity of venomous animals born in Libya and Numidia”). Rosaccio also talks about rivers, earthquakes and their causes, the properties of metals, water and air. A final section on astronomy describes comets, the sun and the moon, planets and constellations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n \u003cp\u003e‘Discourses on eternity, age and time’ deals with time and how to measure it. The author describes the century, year, week, month and day, the four seasons and the ages of men, and provides a simple guide on how to use dominical letters and the ‘golden number’ to determine the day of the week for particular dates. Also included are a lunar calendar for the years 1594-1612, a solar calendar indicating the hour and minute of sunrise and midday for every day of every month, and a ‘Table of Planets’ showing which planet will be ‘the dominant planet’ for the years between 1494 and 1670.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ROSACCIO, Giuseppe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859652682063,"sku":"L3956","price":4750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/IMG_4206-copy.jpg?v=1781793720"},{"product_id":"vitelleschi-mutio-trans","title":"VITELLESCHI, Mutio, trans.","description":"\u003cp\u003eA good copy the scarce first edition of three most interesting accounts of Jesuit missions in Ethiopia, China and Vietnam – with the first description in print of Tonkin, two further editions appeared in Milan and Parma the same year. These texts have survived only in their Italian translations (Backer-Sommervogel), made by Mutio Vitelleschi, (1563-1645), Sixth Superior General of the Society of Jesus, and professor of theology and philosophy at the Roman College. Dated Gongorà 1627, Pedro de Almeida’s ‘lettera annua’ discusses the state of the Catholic faith in 1626-7 in Ethiopia, a country ruled by a Christian emperor and the seat of several monasteries. Among the facts recounted are the Abissinians’ return to their ‘Alexandrine Masses’ in Ethiopian despite Jesuit preaching; the building of a church in Gorgorà; how Father Fernandez, in Anfràs, translated the Catholic ritual and wrote a manual for confessors in Ethiopian; meetings with Ras Zelachristo (the emperor’s brother); rituals of Abissinian monks invoking demons, and many other missionary encounters providing a priceless portrayal of early C17 Ethiopian culture in the main cities and provinces. Dated 1626, the letter of Emmanuel Diaz opens with the three new Chinese missions established that year, proceeding to a section on temporal authority in China (with a mention of the emperor’s chief eunuch), and specific accounts concerning Beijing and other cities, including miracles such as the healing of a young Christian girl. Dated 1626, the last account was written by Father Baldinotti, the first missionary to visit Tonkin. It tells of his arrival aboard a Portuguese merchant ship, with the Japanese Jesuit Giulio Piani, so that Baldinotti ‘could act as confessor and witness the state of the faith in that kingdom and whether it was ready to receive God’s word’. Welcomed by the king, they attended several of his feasts, with elephant tournaments and horse races; the mission was difficult to establish, because of a ‘Moor’, a spy, who showed the Christians in a bad light. The king asked Baldinotti to teach his eunuch ‘the things of the sky’, i.e., astronomy, because he was known to be a fine mathematician. A fine collection of ground-breaking accounts of early C17 Africa and Asia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VITELLESCHI, Mutio, trans.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868671549775,"sku":"L2019","price":3950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L2019-2.jpg?v=1781793662"},{"product_id":"justinus-marcus-junianus-and-florus-lucius-annaeus-with-lucian-of-samosata-and-diodorus-syculus","title":"JUSTINUS, Marcus Junianus. [and] FLORUS, Lucius Annaeus. [with] LUCIAN OF SAMOSATA. [and] DIODORUS SYCULUS.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.In the original C15 binding, two of the most important textbooks of the medieval period. The second work, largely untrimmed, opens with the second edition of Lucian of Samosata s  Verae Historiae  (2.nd. cent.), considered the earliest surviving work of science fiction. A famous satirist, Lucian begins by stating his account is, in fact, a big lie, and proceeds to narrate the most surreal and fantastic adventures, described as  historiae , which bring to exaggeration some of the classic commonplaces of ancient histories. The author and his fellow travellers go beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Flying through space, they reach the Moon   which Lucian describes   where they strive to avoid a war between the King of the Moon and the King of the Sun, and their armies made of alien creatures, for the colonization of the Morning Star. They are later swallowed by a whale so big its stomach is inhabited, they see gigantic insects, and meet the heroes of Troy on the Island of the Blessed, as well as speaking statues much resembling automata, and 'intelligent' lamps who have formed their own society.  With this celestial war, the wondrous and bizarre creatures, and Lucian s ability to venture into space, the notion of utopian and even modern science fiction has been raised in the context of  Verae Historiae   (Clay, p.38), including such commonplace tropes as gigantic creatures or societies formed by sentient objects, with implicit comparison to human society. The second text, Diodorus Siculus s (1.st. cent.)  Bibliotheca historica , is a history which encompasses the whole known world, from Mesopotamia to India, Egypt, Arabia, Africa and Europe, with great attention to the Empire of Alexander the Great. . \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..First printed in 1470, the first work includes two  epitomae , i.e., compilations. The Roman historian Justinus (2.nd. cent. AD) compiled the most interesting and useful excerpts from Pompeius Trogus   Liber Historiarum Philippicarum  (1.st. cent. AD), here edited by the Bolognese humanist Philippus Beroaldus. It is a history of the Kings of Macedonia and an ethnographic and geographical account of the territories eventually conquered by Alexander the Great. It is followed by a compendium of Roman history by Lucius Annaeus Florus (c.1.st. cent AD), a major historian born in Africa under Emperor Hadrian. The  epitome  is based on Livy s  Ab Urbe Condita , and reaches down to 25BC, touching on the causes of Rome s expansion and decline. Untrimmed, original copies..\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"JUSTINUS, Marcus Junianus. [and] FLORUS, Lucius Annaeus. [with] LUCIAN OF SAMOSATA. [and] DIODORUS SYCULUS.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868676006223,"sku":"L4107","price":8950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/DSC_9444.jpg?v=1781793650"},{"product_id":"lupton-donald","title":"LUPTON, Donald.","description":"\u003cp\u003e.A fascinating ecclesiastical biobibliography, recording the lives, written works and deeds of the most important early Christian writers, Church Fathers and martyrs from the 1.st. until the 13.th. C, beginning with Philo of Alexandria and ending with Thomas Aquinas, including figures from across Europe and northern Africa. The text is chronological, and each new biography is headed by an engraved portrait of the figure discussed. The contents page categorises authors by century and uses a separate dating system, counting from the date of creation rather than the birth of Christ, for Philo and Josephus, presumably as they were Jewish. It sets out a brief biography for each figure, followed by a detailed list of works, numbered, and set out into columns, sometimes with a brief explanation as to the content. Lupton often refers to contemporary catalogues by Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516), who composed chronicles of German and French regions, with a focus on  illustrious men , Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), best known for his .Disputationes, .which explored controversies of the Christian Faith.,. and Jacobus Pamelius (1536-1587), who edited the works of St Cyprian and Tertullian, as well as existing literature by other ecclesiastical writers such as Eusebius.. \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..The author was an obscure clergyman who published a number of works between 1632 and 1658 upon a variety of subjects, including devotion, ecclesiastical history, warfare, topography, and geography. With many of its subjects eventually canonised, the writer s style is extremely complimentary and often hagiographical. The introduction identifies the work s purpose to  satisfie the Readers curiosity, but even draw him to wonder and admiration .. \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..44 out of 45 portraits, described as  probably fictitious , depict white men, but Tertullian s darker complexion is particularly striking. A Christian convert from the 3.rd. C Roman Africa, scholars have debated the matter of his ethnicity. Lupton refers to him simply as an  African , but other scholarly sources have hinted at Berber origin. Tertullian refers to himself in his De Pallio as  Punic among Romans , but this provides little insight.. \u003cbr\u003e\n. \u003cbr\u003e\n..A work of great bibliographical interest with a beautiful set of engraved portraits..\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LUPTON, Donald.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868695732559,"sku":"L4121","price":1650.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/08FBAE39-CF66-4B5C-B23B-082A39496A73.webp?v=1781793456"},{"product_id":"purchas-samuel-1","title":"PURCHAS, Samuel.","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmong the double-page maps – here remarkably fresh and clean, in very fine impression, with wide outer margins, and without repairs – shines Henry Briggs’ map of North America, produced by R. Elstracke before 1622. ‘The first printed map in English to show California as an island, it is one of the most important of the time. As a composite, place names are recorded reflecting the nationality of the discoverer, in English, French or Spanish’, with a note engraved in the map stating ‘California sometymes supposed to be a part of ye westerne continent, but since by a Spanish Charte taken by ye Hollanders it is found to be a goodly Ilande: the length of the west shoare beeing about 500 leagues’ (D. Rudderman Coll.). There is also a map of Virginia, published in 1606 after John Smith’s expedition, and one of Sir William Alexander’s voyages, illustrating New England, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The map of China – present in vols III and V – titled in English and Chinese characters, is derived ‘from Luo Hongxian’s general map in his “Guangyu Tu” atlas of 1555’, with the addition of inset pictures (Shirley II, p.1650).\u003c\/p\u003e  \n\n\u003cp\u003eA fine set of the first edition of this most famous illustrated collection of travel narratives, together with the fourth ed. of ‘Purchas His Pilgrimage’ printed in 1626. The most complete early encyclopaedia of American travel, summarising all the major expeditions to North and South America up to the 1620s, from Columbus to William Hudson’s voyage on the Half-Moon, Smith’s expeditions to Virginia, and those carried out by the Spaniards and Dutch on the West Coast. It includes dozens of stunning engraved maps of North and South America, the North Pole, China, the Middle East, and Greenland, among others, as well as woodcut facsimile renditions of Arabic documents, Ottoman tughras, Mughal illumination, and illustrated Mesoamerican manuscripts. ‘Purchas obtained the use of the copperplates from Hondius’ “Atlas Minor” (1607) […]. The great majority of the maps are from this source, and are here printed as part of the text. […] Purchas had further maps engraved: these include maps of India, China, Greenland, North America and Nova Scotia.’\u003c\/p\u003e \n\n\u003cp\u003eSamuel Purchas (1577-1626) was a cleric in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Whilst he never travelled further than a few hundred miles from his native town, he edited a collection of unpublished manuscripts left to him by Richard Hakluyt (hence the second title ‘Hakluytus Posthumous’), to which he added reports of sailors returning from their travels. The result was ‘Purchas His Pilgrimes’. ‘This great geographical collection is a continuation and enlargement of Hakluyt’s “The Principal Navigations”. At the death of Hakluyt there was left a large collection of voyages in manuscript which came into the hands of Purchas, who added to them many more voyages and travels […]. Purchas followed the general plan of Hakluyt, but he frequently put the accounts into his own words […]. The main divisions of the work fall into two parts: the first covering the world known to Ptolemy, the second coming down to Purchas’ own day. This fine collection includes the accounts of Cortés and Pizarro, Drake, Cavendish, John and Richard Hawkins, Quiros, Magellan, van Noort, Spilbergen, and Barents, as well as the categories of Portuguese voyages to the East Indies, Jesuit voyages to China and Japan, East India Company voyages, and the expeditions of the Muscovy Company’ (Hill). The four vols examine ancient voyages, customs and languages (e.g., the peregrinations of the Apostles and Patriarchs), the circumnavigation of the globe, explorations in Africa, Arabia, Persia, and India, voyages to Japan, China, the Philippines, and expeditions to the Middle and Far East. The fifth vol., also on world exploration, is considered the ‘fourth and best ed.’ (Sabin) of another travel work published by Purchas in the 1610s, especially important for the accounts of William Hudson’s explorations in North America.\u003c\/p\u003e  \n\n\u003cp\u003eThe double-page maps of North America are remarkably detailed on the coastal areas, showing the Hudson River, dozens of locations in California, Texas, Mexico, Newfoundland, New Britain, Canada, and the Caribbean. A highlight are the woodcut reproductions of unusual alphabets, e.g., hieroglyphs, ancient magical alphabets, and cabbalistic, as well as Arabic, Glagolitic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Dalmatian, and others. Purchas also included woodcut reproductions – among the earliest instances of facsimile in print – of Middle Eastern and South Asian documents (e.g., a letter in Arabic from Sharefoo Boobackar, King of Moyela; a letter in Bani, the Tughra of the Ottoman Sultan) and Ottoman seals, which he found among the East India papers he had access to thanks to acquaintances among the company’s directors. Astounding are the two dozen woodcuts reproducing Mexican illustrated manuscripts with detailed captions and explanations. ‘The idea of a visual compendium of all known examples of a given class of Mexican antiquities was first attempted by Purchas. […] He commissioned line drawings of manuscripts previously owned by Hakluyt and Thevet. […] After Purchas’ death, these manuscripts became part of the collection of John Selden, who bequeathed them, in turn, to the Bodleian Library’ (Miller, p.5).\u003c\/p\u003e  \n\n \u003cp\u003eFrom the Library of the Admiralty Office overlooking Horse Guards, in Whitehall, formerly the administrative headquarter of the Royal Navy. A most appropriate provenance for a book of great voyages.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PURCHAS, Samuel.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57868710609231,"sku":"L4539","price":97500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/purchas-1.jpg?v=1781793407"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/collections\/Screenshot_2026-06-10_at_16.16.42.png?v=1781104650","url":"https:\/\/sokol-books-ltd.myshopify.com\/collections\/africana.oembed","provider":"Sokol Books Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}