Lopez, Duarte and Philippo Pigafetta (trans. Abraham Hartwell)

4to (7 1/4 x 5 in.; 184 x 127 mm). Two title-pages: woodcut device on first title-page (McKerrow 269), and arms of the dedicatee, the Archbishop of Canterbury, on verso, fleuron 4v in the uncancelled state (reading line 2 up "glyketroteron"), second title-page with woodcut fleur-de-lys (McKerrow 258), woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, three engraved folding maps (two by William Rogers, being a map of the Congo in the second state with the arms of the King of Alvarus and a coastal map of Africa), 10 full-page woodcuts (two repeats); lacking blank leaf 2*2 and initial blank A1,  preliminary quire dust-soiled and browned along top margin, minor browning in quire K, repair short crease fold tear affecting the word "Capo." Later sheep, rebacked.

Engraved armorial bookplate with the motto "Le Bon Temps Viendra"

STC 16805; ESTC S108820

First edition in English. Lopez lived at Loanda from 1578 to 1587 before returning to Rome at the request of the King of Congo, Don Alvaro, in a vain attempt to interest Pope Sixtus V in the Congo. Pigafetta's compilation, derived from Lopez's notes, is largely devoted to the geography of the various provinces, the climate, the succession of native monarchs, and the relationship of the Portugese with the Congolese that led to the growth of Christianity. De Bry and Purchas included extracts from this history in their collections of voyages.