THEVET (André). - Lot 153

Lot n° 153
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Estimation :
12000 - 15000 EUR
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Result : 15 797EUR
THEVET (André). - Lot 153
THEVET (André). The singularities of Antarctic France, otherwise known as America, and of several Lands and Islands discovered in our time. Antwerp, Plantin, 1558. In-8 of (8), 163, (1) ff, (some numbering errors), old vellum, manuscript title on spine. Second edition, very rare, of one of the most important books on Brazil and Canada. 41 woodcut illustrations in the text after A. Nicolaï, copying those of the Paris edition published the previous year. Historical and official account by the Franciscan friar André Thevet, a member of the expedition, of Villegagnon's attempt in 1555 to found a French colony in Brazil, a colony whose ephemeral establishment took the name France Antarctica. To the description of Brazil, the author has added that of other parts of the American continent: Cuba, Peru (the mines of Potosi), Mexico, Florida... The part devoted to Canada, which Thevet claimed to hold the content of Jacques Cartier, is, after that of the latter, the oldest relationship of New France by a French author. The remarkable figures on wood depict the life and customs of the natives, as well as the fauna and flora. One depicts an Indian smoking a cigar, while the Canadian narrative includes a description of how to smoke in a "cornet percé". These are among the earliest records of Indian smoking. Despite the controversial reputation of its author, who strove to know personally all the French navigators in Canada and Brazil of his time, the book is a source of primary importance for the history of French discoveries in America and for the ethnography of Brazil. This volume is also one of the first books printed by Plantin and one of the most precious to come out of these famous presses. Excellent copy, perfectly preserved, placed or put back in an old vellum binding. Guards renewed. Fairfax-Murray, French, 537; Sabin, 95440; Borba de Moraes, II, 304; Church, 108.
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