The Letter of Amerigo Vespucci Describing His Four Voyages to the New World, 1497-1504.

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1926 Book. Illus. by Angelo, Valenti. Very Good. Soft cover. 1st Edition. Introduction by Oscar Lewis. One of 250 numbered copies printed by the Grabhorn Press, this being number 227. Quarto. Pp. [10], 28, [1]. plus preliminary and end blank leaves. Hand-colored title map, 5 decorative initials and 2 illustrations adapted from contemporary sources by Valenti Angelo. Printed with Italian Old Style type on Van Gelder paper. Full limp vellum binding, title hand-lettered in black on spine. Some waviness to sheets due to buckling of vellum (as usual), bookplate on inner cover. One of 250 numbered copies printed by the Grabhorn Press, this being number 227. Original announcement laid in. Letters to Piero Soderini, Gonfaloniere of Florence, and reprinted from the original Italian edition, published in 1505 or 1506 by Pietro Pacini di Pascia at Florence. This was not only one of the Fifty Books of the Year, it was also awarded the gold medal by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. This was the first book illustrated by Valenti Angelo for the Press and the first book bound in limp vellum. As the Grabhorn Bibliography states, "It is unfortunate that the vellum, which was bought at a local tannery, was improperly seasoned, and some of the bindings have buckled." [Grabhorn: 85]. .