- 329
Alvares, Francisco
Estimate
7,000 - 10,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Historiale description de l’Ethiopie, contenant vraye relation des terres, & païs du gran Roy, & Empereur Prete-Ian, l’assiette des ses Royaumes & Provinces, leurs coutumes, loix, & religion, avec les pourtraits de leurs temples & autres singularitez, cy devant non cogneues. Antwerp: Christopher Plantin, 1558
- paper
8vo (140 x 88 mm.), woodcut device on title page, woodcut initials and illustrations, ENGLISH EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY RED MOROCCO GILT, modern matching folding box, upper joint starting, minor wear to extremities
Provenance
Manuscript note on reverse of flyleaf "bt. at Gennadius sale at Sotheby's March 28 1895" (lot 109, described as Beckford copy), cutting attached to second flyleaf ... from the Beckford collection, where it fetched £3 (lot 175, 30 June 1882); Henry J.B. Clements, bookplate; Wilfred Thesiger, bookplate, sale in these rooms, November 21, 1991, lot 347; Henry Winterton, sale in these rooms, May 28, 2003, lot 18; Bent Juel-Jensen, Amharic bookplate
Literature
BM STC Dutch, p.5; Voet 53A; cf. Pankhurst 2
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
THE BECKFORD-GENNADIUS-THESIGER COPY. This work is the classic account of the European rediscovery of the Land of Prester John. Alvares (c.1465-1541) spent the years 1520 to 1527 in Ethiopia as chaplain with the embassy sent by King Manoel I. His narrative was first published in Portugal in 1540, but the text here is taken from the French translation of the first volume of G.B. Ramusio's collection Navigationi e viaggi, published in 1550 (see footnote in Voet).