Mundus Novus. Ein Bericht Amerigo Vespucci's an Lorenzo de Medici über seine Reise nach Brasilien in den Jahren 1501/02 [...].
Folio (242 x 358 mm). 23, (1), (12) pp. With title vignette, 3 illustrations in the introduction and 3 facsimiled illustrations. Contemporary wrappers.
€ 450.00
Facsimile reproduction of Hermann Barkhusen's edition of Vespucci's "Mundus Novus" - the first and only folio edition, printed in Rostock in 1505. The specimen here reproduced in black and white on eight pages is remarkable for being the printer's personal copy, inscribed to himself on the title-page, which had been discovered in the municipal library of Frankfurt am Main upon a revision of the America department.
The celebrated account of Vespucci's voyage, undertaken at the orders of King Manuel I of Portugal in 1502, brought its author immediate fame, and the expedition still counts as one of the most important achievements in the history of exploration. Of all editions, the one here reproduced is the only one to contain the full-page globe map of the eastern hemisphere, accompanied by a six-line paragraph comparing the ancient knowledge of Ptolemy with the new discoveries. It was on account of this large woodcut map and the title woodcut representing a male and female savage that the folio size was employed, while all other editions were published in either octavo or quarto formats. The edition also includes Vespucci's famous star diagrams which pioneered navigation in the southern hemisphere.
Introduction by Emil Sarnow of Frankfurt and Kurt Trübenbach of Plauen. Issued as vol. 9 in the Alsatian publisher's series "Drucke und Holzschnitte des XV. und XVI. Jahrhunderts in getreuer Nachbildung". Wrappers somewhat duststained and chipped; publisher's advert loosely inserted. From the library of the Viennese collector Werner Habel (1939-2015) with his ownership stamp to inside cover.
