Askham, Anthony

8vo (5 x 3 3/4 in.; 128 x 95 mm). Black letter (with roman and italic), woodcut initials and tailpieces; fore-edges remargined with missing text (averaging 1 or 2 letters per line) supplied in neat facsimile. Gatherings loose in nineteenth-century wrappers; rebacked. Russet morocco folding-case.

Richard Heber (? possibly the copy cited as lot 361 in his sale, Evans, 25 May 1835) — J. Epps (initials on inside front wrapper) — Hailwell Library (contemporary inscription on flyleaf, "Hailwell Library, purchased at the Sale of Mr. Epps Library January 1840 Aylesbury) — E. P. Goldschmidt (catalogue 43, 1937) — Franklin Institute, Philadelphia — Michael Zinman (bookplate; Sotheby's New York, 11 December 1993, lot 636)

STC 857a; ESTC S104419. Not in Harrisse, Sabin, Alden & Landis, Borba de Moraes, etc.

8vo (5 x 3 3/4 in.; 128 x 95 mm). Black letter (with roman and italic), woodcut initials and tailpieces; fore-edges remargined with missing text (averaging 1 or 2 letters per line) supplied in neat facsimile. Gatherings loose in nineteenth-century wrappers; rebacked. Russet morocco folding-case.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition, very rare, of an Americanum omitted by all Americana Bibliographies. Anthony Askham, a graduate in medicine of Cambridge University, was the brother of the famous humanist Roger Ascham; the spelling of his name preserves the original pronunciation of this Yorkshire family. All of Askham's publications—comprising almanacs, astrological treatises, and herbals—are extremely rare. The present copy of A Lytel Treatyse of Astonomy is one of only three recorded; the other two are in the British Library and the Huntington Library (a fourth copy, located by STC to the National Library of Medicine is a ghost). The date of composition and publication can be fairly closely calculated. It was dedicated to Sir John Cheke, tutor to Edward VI and close friend and patron of Roger Ascham. Askham states that he composed his work after his "laste commyng up to London a lytel before saint Mathias daye," thus after late February in the leap year 1552, when the date of celebration of this feast was variable from place to place. The dedication to Cheke qualifies him as a knight, a title conferred upon him 11 October 1552.

Because of its rarity, Askham's Lytel Treatyse of Astonomy has slipped through the net of generations of searchers for early references to America, although it was recognized by the redoubtable Dr. R., who offered a copy in his 1938 catalogue "The Sea." On C2v, Askham mentions "the countre of Brasilia, beynge in that part of the worlde called America," where are found cannibals and "many precious stones, and also the region of Giauntes, where Magekkanus that passed the strayght and narowe see, beyinde America, dyd measure them to be ten fote longe. …" This is one of the earliest English-language references to Brazil as a country; O.E.D.'s first citation of Brazil proper is from Richard Eden, 1555). Rosenbach termed Askham's work "the fifth book printed in England mentioning America, or, if translations be excluded, the second."