Lot 54
  • 54

Lusignano, Steffano

Estimate
2,000 - 3,000 GBP
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Description

  • Chorograffia, et breve historia universale dell' isola de Cipro principiando al tempo di Noè per in sino al 1572. Bologna: Alessandro Bennaci, 1573
  • paper
FIRST EDITION, small 4to (209 x 148mm.), woodcut printer's device on title, initial letters, and plan of Nicosia on folio 16, a few old marginal annotations and underlinings in ink, early twentieth-century vellum boards with gilt border, flat spine lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, minor scattered spotting and browning

Literature

Cobham-Jeffery p.35; Ioannou, Cyprus and the Levant from the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation, II, p. 313; not in Adams or Atabey

Condition

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."

Catalogue Note

A rare early history and description of Cyprus. Lusignano (1537-1590) wrote several books on Cyprus and claimed to be a descendant of the royal family of Lusignan. 'This is the first of his four works on Cyprus and the only one in Italian. It is of particular importance for the knowledge it displays concerning the new fortifications constructed by the Venetians in Nicosia, with a woodcut on leaf 16 of the new fortress with its eleven bastions ... Sometimes a folding genealogical table is found bound in. It is not certain whether this table was published separately or as part of this work. Copies are found with and without the table' (Ioannou).