Montalboddo, Fracanzano da

First edition in Latin, small folio (300 x 210mm.), full-page woodcut map on title (second issue, with "Arabicus" replacing "P[er]sicus"), 2 index leaves bound after title, old carta rustica, later paper catalogue label on upper cover, flat spine titled in ink, uncut, stain to title, some waterstaining (mostly to first and final few gatherings), lacking lower part of backstrip, spine rather rubbed

Alden-Landis 508/4; Borba de Moraes I:580; Church 27; Harrisse 58; Sabin 50058 ("This book is of excessive rarity"); cf. PMM 42 (1507 edition)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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"After Columbus' letters the most important contribution to the early history of American discovery" (Sabin).

An exceedingly rare uncut copy (the tallest traced at auction), complete with the two index leaves, of the first Latin edition of the first printed collection of voyages and travels of the Age of Discovery and the only edition with a map. The cornerstone of any early Americana collection.

First printed in Italian in Vicenza in 1507, the work was translated into Latin by the Milanese monk, Archangelo Madrignano, and printed the following year. In addition to the accounts of the exploration of the Americas, it contains important accounts of voyages in Africa and Asia. This work has been described as "the most important vehicle for the dissemination throughout Renaissance Europe of the news of the great discoveries both in the East and the West" (Printing and the Mind of Man). The most important voyages include: the first three voyages of Colombus, 1492-1500; the third voyage of Vespucci to Brasil, 1501-1502; Pedro Alvares Cabral's discovery of the Brasilian, Guianaian, and Venezuelan coasts in 1500-1501; Alvise de Cadamosto's explorations along the West African coast in 1456 (printed for the first time); and Vasco da Gama's explorations of Africa and India, 1497-1499 which "opened the way for the maritime invasion of the East by Europe" (PMM).

The map includes the first large map of Africa, and is the earliest known map devoted to the continent of Africa. The map in this copy is the second issue, with the Persian Sea ('Sinus Persicus') renamed the Arabian Sea ('Sinus Arabicus'). The map also includes one of the earliest appearances on a printed map of Mecca.