Minadoi, Giovanni Tommaso

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, small 4to (185 x 134mm.), folding engraved map 'The description of the hether parte of Asia' by Charles Whitwell, nineteenth-century polished calf gilt by J. Winstanley of Manchester, with his ticket, spine in compartments with raised bands richly gilt, marbled edges, blank piece torn from lower margin of 3F, extremities rubbed, label and spine ends chipped

Richard Assheton, early signature on title; Boies Penrose (1860-1921), bookplate; Boies Penrose II (1902-1976), bookplate; sale in these rooms, "The Celebrated Library of Boies Penrose Esq FSA FRGS", 9 November 1971, lot 169

Göllner II, 2051; STC 17943; Tibbetts (for the map, Arabia in Early Maps) 78 (with the erroneous date of 1627); Wilson p.144; this edition not in Atabey cf. 816 and 817 (Italian editions)

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.
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."

A FINE COPY OF THE VERY RARE ENGLISH EDITION, COMPLETE WITH THE MAP. THE BOIES PENROSE COPY. We can trace no other copy of this English edition at auction since this copy appeared in 1971, and prior to this sale the next sale record we have traced was for a copy sold in these rooms in 1938.

Minadoi travelled in the Near and Middle East for seven years between 1577 and 1585, and his account of the wars between the Persians and the Turks is based on his experiences. At the end of the work is a dictionary of place names and a foreign vocabulary. The engraved map by Charles Whitwell and published by John Wolfe is 'seemingly the earliest English printed map with its own retail imprint' (Worms & Baynton-Williams, British Map Engravers, London, 2011, p.719).

'Abraham Hartwell (1553/4–1606) attended Trinity College, Cambridge, becoming a fellow in 1574. He entered the service of the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift, and by 1584 had become his secretary. By 1600 he was also a member of the Society of Antiquaries.

Hartwell’s most important contribution to scholarship was as a translator, and between 1595 and 1604 he published three translations from Italian [including the present work] and one from French, the former all dedicated to Whitgift. The first of these, The history of the warres betweene the Turkes and the Persians (1595), is described as completed in 'houres … stollen from your Grace's graver businesses whereon I should have attended' (sig. A4). It was followed in 1597 by A report of the kingdome of Congo, an English version, amplified by woodcut plates and a map, of an Italian translation of the Portuguese original by Duarte Lopes. In his address to the reader Hartwell explains that he had been pressed by Richard Hakluyt to translate it, and presents as his primary motive a desire to advance missionary activity. Then in 1599 he published a translation from the French of a case of fraudulent demonic possession, with a dedication to Richard Bancroft, bishop of London, and finally, on 1 January 1604, in 'this my Quinquagenarian yere of Jubile', he produced a translation, The Ottoman of Lazaro Soranzo, describing how he had been prompted to 'thrust it forth' by a question put to him by Whitgift concerning the promotion of the grand vizier at the sultan's court.’ (ODNB)