Martyr, Peter.

Estimate

2,000 - 3,000 GBP

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Description

De orbe novo. Paris: Guillaume Auvray, 1587
paper

8vo (157 x 97mm.), calf gilt by Riviere, gilt edges, without the map (as often, see footnote), title restored, neatly rebacked retaining original spine

Literature

Anthony Payne, Richard Hakluyt, no.8

Catalogue Note

Peter Martyr's (1457-1526) work on the Spanish conquest of America was first published in 1530 and a part of it had been published in an English translation of 1555. This edition in Latin is based on the most complete text, that of 1530, which had not been reprinted since.

This edition was edited and annotated by Richard Hakluyt, an important figure in encouraging English expansion overseas and competing with the Spanish and French for the riches of the Americas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Published in the year before the Armada, it was dedicated to Sir Walter Raleigh. "The map is frequently lacking and was perhaps originally intended not to accompany this book but Hakluyt's edition of Espejo's Viaje (1586)" (Payne).