Kiöping, Nils Matsson (1621-1680).

Estimate

2,000 - 3,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

Een kort beskriffning uppa trenne resor och peregrinationer, sampt konungarijket Japan: I. Beskrifwes een reesa som genom Asia, Africa... ar forrattat aff Nils Matson... II. Forstelles thet stoora och machtiga konungarijke Japan... III. Beskrifwes een reese till Ostindien, China och Japan ... aff Oloff Erickson Willman... IV. Uthfores een reesa ifran Muscow till China... forrarrad aff een Rysk Gesandt. Wisingsborgh (Visingsö): J. Kankel, 1667

4to (190 x 160mm.), [4], 257 (=258, p.168 bis) pp., second title-page on p.137, binding: contemporary vellum, red striped edges, title-leaf a little soiled, some foxing

Provenance

Probably bought from a sale. The number N 392 is written on the front fly-leaf in the same way as in other Scandinavian and Baltic books in the library (cf. Macclesfield part VIII, lot 2784 and note).

Literature

Collijn iv 456-457; Cordier, Japonica 379-380

Catalogue Note

first edition of this rare book, printed at a private press of which Cordier writes "première édition très rare (Cat. Sobolewski no. 1627)". The only copy of this edition in the UK is at SOAS (catalogued under Matsson). The British Library has the 1674 enlarged edition (lacking title and next leaf). A third edition was published in 1743.

In 1667 a printing-house was established by Count Per Brahe the younger (1602-1680), soldier, senator, administrator, and governor-general of Finland, where he founded the university of Åbo (Turusa, Turku). This was established at Visingsö, an island in lake Vättern, and printed twenty-eight works between 1667 and 1678. It was the subject of a short account (28pp.) by one Samuel Gestrin published at Uppsala in 1793. The printer Johann Kankel (see S. Almqvist, Johann Kankel. Pehr Brahes boktryckare på Visingsö, Stockholm, 1965) had worked in Danzig (Gdansk) and Stettin (Szczecin) before being established as Brahe's printer. He printed a number of schoolbooks for the school founded by Brahe at Visingsö (which have not survived). The press did not survive his death.