LÉON L'AFRICAIN. - Lot 1130

Lot n° 1130
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400 - 600 EUR
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Result : 506EUR
LÉON L'AFRICAIN. - Lot 1130
LÉON L'AFRICAIN. Africae descriptio IX. Lib. absoluta. Leiden, Elzevier, 1632. In-24 (106 x 57 mm) of an engraved allegorical title (included in the pagination), 800 pp, 8 ff.n.ch. table; ivory wove paper, smooth spine with manuscript title, with jagged edges (contemporary binding), modern magnetic wooden case with the author's initials. The only Elzevirian edition of this famous travel narrative. Born in Seville, the Arab traveller and geographer Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi (ca. 1494- 1554) spent his early years travelling through Africa and the Near East. He travelled to Fez, Morocco, to Tunis, crossed the Sahara desert to Timbuktu, and visited the states of Upper Niger as far as Cairo, Houssa, Bornou and Lake Chad. In 1517, however, he was kidnapped by Christian pirates and taken to Rome. He was presented to Pope Leo X and adopted the name "Leo" as his surname. The Pope persuaded him to translate the Arabic manuscript account of his travels into Italian. Occasional stains, corner of pp. 125/126 torn off with loss of 4 letters, unidentified stamp on the engraved title; small wormholes in the binding. Willems, 371; Gay, 258.
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