Franck, Sebastian, Ulrich Schmidel and Hans von Staden.

2 volumes bound in one (comprising 3 separately-paginated parts), folio (310 x 190mm.), first title printed in red and black, titles with woodcuts vignettes, woodcut initials and ornaments in the text, large printer's device at end, contemporary pigskin over wooden boards, blindstamped with portrait and ornamental borders, metal clasps, [Alden & Landis 567/16; Borba da Moraes p.317; JCB I, 234/5; Palau 304834; Sabin 25471, 77677]

A fine copy of a rare work, with the first appearance in print of Schmidel's voyage to Brazil and Argentina. One of the rarest early German collections of voyages.

The first part comprises the Weltbuch by Sebastian Franck, including a 54-page description of America, which had appeared earlier. The second part ("Ander theil"), contains the accounts of several Portuguese voyages to the East Indies, the voyages of Ulrich Schmidel to Brazil and Argentina and that of Hans von Staden to Brazil; those of the latter two, both of whom were German mercenary soldiers, are among the earliest accounts of South American travels and discovery.

Schimdel's account is the first printing of the earliest account of colonisation of the River Plate and of the founding of Buenos Aires. It is a vivid narrative of a soldier who fought the native Indian tribes for over eighteen years, having joined Pedro de Mendoza's New World expedition to the River Plate, which consisted of fourteen ships carrying mostly civilians intending to settle in the region. Schmidel describes the voyage to and from South America, the first founding of Buenos Aires in 1537, the terrible sufferings of the settlers and the final abandonment of the fort to the native Indians. He also gives a detailed description of the rebellion against the newly appointed governor of the region, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca at Asunción in 1549.

Staden made two voyages to Brazil in 1547-1555; he was taken prisoner by the Tupi Indians and spent nine months among the natives of the Sáo Paulo region. His description provides a graphic account of the cannibalism and barbarous customs of the aborigines and is still considered to be an important source of information on the ethnography of the southern Tupinamba. All early editions are rare.