CHRONOGRAPHIA O REPORTORIO DE LOS TIMEPOS EL MAS COPIOSO Y PRECISO QUE HAST AHORA HA SALIDO A LUZ

Book Description

Seville: Juan Gutierrez, 1561.. [9],219 leaves. Woodcut map of the New World on the verso of leaf i4, woodcut map of Eastern Hemisphere on the verso of leaf i1. Woodcut illustrations and initials throughout. Woodcut portrait of the author on the titlepage. Small quarto. Contemporary limp vellum. Foredge of titlepage worn and with several small closed tears, but no loss of content. Institutional ink stamp of the Jesuit College at Cordoba on verso of titlepage. Several instances of neat, early ink notes and emendations. A very good copy. In a half morocco box. The extremely rare fourth edition of Chaves' important early work on chronography and astronomy, featuring an early map of the New World. The first edition appeared in Seville in 1548, followed by editions printed in that same city in 1550 and 1554. Chaves (1523- 1574) was a distinguished mathematician, cosmographer, and poet living in Seville, and the first occupant of the chair for cosmography at the Casa de Contractacion. He was one of the first cosmographers to publish a map of the New World, appearing on the verso of leaf 68 in this edition. Chaves' New World map is an early and notable map of North and South America. Burden notes that the map "does show knowledge of some of the latest geographical findings; the Gulf of California and Cartier's expeditions in Canada. The Yucatan is correctly shown as a peninsula." The map is surrounded by twelve named windheads. The map of the Eastern Hemisphere names the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The illustrations include several representations of solar eclipses with their future dates of occurrence, as well as astrological symbols (with attendant tables). EUROPEAN AMERICANA states that the first Gutierrez edition printed in Seville appeared in 1566, inexplicably neglecting to note the present edition. The present edition is listed in Palau, who also locates a copy in the British Museum that is without a date but is assumed to be 1561. OCLC and NUC together locate only four additional copies of this 1561 edition, at the University of Arizona, Dartmouth, Indiana University, and the John Carter Brown Library. Very rare, and with an important map. ADAMS C-1422 PALAU 67452. MEDINA (BHA) 186. BM STC (SPANISH), p.23. SHIRLEY 86A. BURDEN 15. JCB 1:211. OCLC 2471493.

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