SOLD
pp. lii, [6], 7-237, [3] blanks, hardbound, contemporary half calf, beige cloth, with gold gilt title on spine, with 4 original hand-colour maps of the FIRST depictions of Mactan/Cebu, Guam, South America, and Moluccas as shown in the manuscript, with 2 folded copper engraved maps of the route of the voyage in the Philippines and Around the World. EXTREMELY RARE. First edition of the first appearance in print of the full text of Pigafetta’s famous eyewitness account detailing Magellan’s circumnavigation – much rarer than the 1801 French edition. Four contemporary manuscript copies of Pigafetta’s complete narrative are known to exist: three in French and one in Italian. They were written at the request of Pope Clement VII and Villiers de l’Isle Adam, Grand Master of the Order of Rhodes. Primo Viaggio Intorno al Globo Terracqueo, the first complete published edition, is a modernized version of the Italian manuscript in the Ambrosian Library at Milan. It was discovered by Father Carlo Amoretti, who transcribed it, correcting the language, and adding a preface. A complete background text is available upon request.
with wear on spine, but very clean block, an excellent copy.
