voyages & travel

65 Pages·2017·9.61 MB·English

VOYAGES & TRAVEL
CATALOGUE 1485
MAGGS BROS. LTD.
C
atalogue 1485 is a selection of fi fty or so
travel items to celebrate the fi rm’s moving
into its new premises at 48 Bedford Square.
In recent times we have structured travel catalogues
by region, but here we hark back to some of the early,
great Maggs catalogues and have ordered the items
chronologically.
We have tried to represent each area of the globe,
from the discoveries in both poles, the Far East, the
Middle East, the Pacifi c and the Americas. Among
the highlights, are the two early manuscript leaves
Cover image: item 25; Company School
documenting Marco Polo’s travels to China and,
particularly, Tibet. Th ere is a stunning mid-eighteenth
MAGGS BROS. LTD. 48 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DR century view of Rio de Janeiro by the Baron de Breteuil,
Telephone: ++ 44 (0)20 7493 7160 a signifi cant album of Indian watercolours executed by
Facsimile: ++ 44 (0)20 7499 2007 Company School artists, and a vast trove of manuscript
Email: [email protected] and photographic material assembled by Charles
Tennant for his landmark work on Ceylon. Th e Arctic
is represented by the likes of Arthur Dobbs and John
Rae while the Antarctic includes a rare copy of James
Weddell’s 1826 Observations… and two of Herbert
Ponting’s beautiful photographs.
We look forward to welcoming you to the new shop as
we commence the next phase of our history.
© Maggs Bros. Ltd. 2017
Design by Radius Graphics
Printed and Bound by The Gomer Press, Ceredigion
1
An Original 14th Century Manuscript of
an Important Section of Marco Polo’s Travels
POLO (Marco).
[Two original 14th century manuscript
leaves, on vellum, containing the text
of seven chapters of Marco Polo’s
landmark description of his travels to
Asia, including his description of Tibet].
Two folio vellum leaves (approx. 340 by 240mm), a total of four
pages. Each page with manuscript text in two columns, each
column containing fi fty-two lines of text in a Franco-Italic script
in a neat Gothic hand. With six decorated two-colour initials (one
for the fi rst letter of each chapter start), each more than three lines
in height. Glue residue on the recto of both leaves, a remnant of
their previous use as pastedowns in another volume, with resulting
abrasions in a few places. Old stab holes in left edge of both
leaves. Worming in the margins, tears and stains in the edges of
both leaves. Burn holes and worming affecting about seventy-fi ve
total words of text. In a folding morocco clamshell box, spine gilt.
[Northern Italy, ca. 1350]. £200,000
A truly remarkable and important survival, these two manuscript leaves
contain the text of seven chapters of one of the most signifi cant and resonant
travel accounts in the history of human endeavour, the journey of Marco
Polo across Asia in the late 13th century. Two of the chapters contain
Polo’s account of Tibet, the fi rst description of that region by a European.
Contemporary scholars maintain that Polo’s account was fi rst written in a
popular literary language of the day, called Franco-Italic. The present redac-
tion of the travels of Marco Polo, written circa 1350 and within a generation
of Polo’s death, is in the same Franco-Italic script.
It therefore presents the earliest and most accurate text of Polo’s travels,
and provides important information and signifi cant evidence of how this
now-legendary travel account was transmitted and read a century before
the invention of the printing press. Since it can be argued that Marco Polo’s
MAGGS 3
most important contribution to the history of discovery was so much in his that “most scholars believe that
travels through Asia but by relating his knowledge of Asia to Europe, these it was written either in French or
manuscript leaves are of the highest signifi cance. in a variant of French, an artifi -
Marco Polo (1254-1324) was born into a prominent Venetian trad- cial literary language popular in
ing family. In 1271 he departed with his father and uncle toward the East, Italy at the time, called Franco-
travelling through Syria, Jerusalem, Turkey, Persia, and India, to China Italian” (p. 46). This “fi rst edi-
and the court of Kublai Khan. Marco Polo became a favourite of the Khan tion” is referred to by Larner
and travelled throughout China over the next fi fteen years as an emissary and others as the “F” text. An
of the Mongol emperor. Polo returned to Venice in 1295, only to be briefl y early 14th century version of
imprisoned in Genoa a few years later. During this imprisonment, in 1298, this “F” text is held by the Bib-
he dictated his adventures to Rusticiano (also called Rustichello) of Pisa, liotheque Nationale in France
and the text became known as IL MILIONE. The original text was written (BNF ms. fr. 1116, also known
in Franco-Italic, and was quickly translated into Latin and other languages as the “Geographic Text”), and
by court clerks. The fi rst printed edition was made in Nuremberg in 1477, it is believed that most redac-
followed by a Latin translation (Christopher Columbus’s had a copy of this tions of this Franco-Italic text
edition in his library). come from this copy. The most
These two vellum leaves were discovered as pastedowns in an unrelated recent published edition of the
work, the identity of which is not known to us. The recto of the fi rst leaf “F” text is that edited by Gabri-
contains the concluding nine lines (about half the text) of chapter 112 (as ella Ronchi, published in 1982.
designated in the Ronchi edition; designated chapter XLII of Book II by The present manuscript leaves
Yule) of IL MILIONE, and the two leaves contain the entireties of Ronchi’s of Polo’s text correspond, with
chapters 113 to 117 (Yule’s chapters XLIII to XLVII in Book II). The verso some very minor variations, to
of the fi nal leaf contains the fi rst twenty-one lines of Ronchi’s chapter 118 the text as reproduced by Ron-
(chapter XLVIII in Book II of Yule), about one quarter of the text. In these chi, and therefore represent Polo’s manuscript as it was transmitted in its
chapters, Polo describes his travels through the province of Cuncun (Han- earliest form.
chung), Acbalec Manzi (the Han River valley and north Sichuan), the city These two manuscript leaves of Marco Polo’s IL MILIONE have been
of Sindafu, Caindu, and Carajan. He discusses the nature, qualities, and examined by three eminent palaeographers, including Albert Derolez, formerly
topography of the land through which he travelled, the people he encoun- Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at the Library of the State University
tered, and their customs, habits, and manners, as well as their methods of of Ghent; Paul Saenger, Curator of Rare Books at the Newberry Library
commerce, religion, courtship, and government. in Chicago; and Consuelo Dutschke, Curator of Medieval Manuscripts at
Most importantly, two of the chapters included in these manuscript Columbia University Library. All three agree that the manuscript was created
leaves give Polo’s description of Tibet, the fi rst description of the region by in Italy circa 1350, based on the script and the decoration of the initials.
a European. Polo discusses the large cane plants found in Tibet, and the These manuscript leaves, written within a generation of Marco Polo’s death
residents’ habit of burning the plants, which make a very loud sound when and containing the text that most closely corresponds to the now-lost origi-
burned, to keep wild animals away. He then goes on to describe the mating nal manuscript, represent the earliest and most accurate form of one of the
and marriage rituals of the Tibetans, including the male preference for expe- most important and celebrated travel accounts in human history. A treasure.
rienced, non-virginal women as their mates. Polo also relates that gold dust
LARNER, John; Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World (New Haven, 2001),
is found in great abundance in the rivers and lakes of Tibet, that cinnamon
Introduction, Appendix I, and pp.46-132; YULE, Henry, ed. (revised by Henri Cordier),
and other spices grow there in plenty, and that the Tibetans covet coral, The Book of Ser Marco Polo (London, 1921), Vol. I, pp.80-104 and Vol. II, Appendix F.
which is hung around the necks of the women and of their religious idols. RONCHI, Gabriella, ed.; Milione, Le Divisament dou Monde (Milan, 1982), pp.458-70.
John Larner notes that the original manuscript of Polo’s adventures as Howgego I, P124-P126.
narrated by Polo himself to Rusticiano of Pisa has not survived, but writes
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2
Cortes’ Second Letter. John Murray’s Copy
with his Bookplate Presented to him by Martius
MARTYR (Peter) & CORTES (Hernando).
Praeclara Ferdinadi Cortesii de nova Maris
Oceani Hyspania Narratio… [With:] De
Rebus, et Insulis Noviter Repertis.
Full-page armorial to verso of title without the folding plan of
Mexico City (supplied in facsimile) with 4 initial letters & one tail-
piece. 4to. Contemporary blind stamped calf over oak boards, with
the remains of clasps, lower board very slightly defective at corner,
but a lovely copy overall in its fi rst binding, with some unobtrusive
light worming. [4], 49, [1], 12 ll. [Nuremberg, Fridericus Peypus,
1524]. £30,000
The fi rst Latin edition of Cortés’ second letter, after its original publication in
Seville in 1522. The work was translated by Petrus Savorgnanus. This copy
does not bear the portrait of Pope Clement VII on the verso of the fourth
preliminary leaf which is not found with all copies. Cortés’ second letter,
dated Oct. 30, 1520, provides a vivid account of the people he encountered
and fought en route to Tenochtitlan (Mexico), painting a picture of an
impressive empire centred around a great city. He relates his scrape with rival
Velazquez and gives a wonderful description of the buildings, institutions,
and court at Tenochtitlan. It is here that Cortés provides a defi nitive name
for the country, calling it “New Spain of the Ocean Sea”. This letter is also
important for referring to Cortés’ “lost” fi rst letter, supposedly composed
at Vera Cruz on July 10, 1521. Whether that letter was actually lost or sup-
pressed by the Council of the Indies is unknown, but there is little doubt it
once existed. As usual, the second letter is here bound with Peter Martyr’s
De Rebus, et Insulis Noviter Repertis, which provides an account of the
recently discovered West Indies and their inhabitants. It is often considered Provenance: Iohan Alberecht Von und Zu Haimhausen c. 1660, engraved
a substitute for the lost fi rst Cortés letter. One of the most important early armorial bookplate; Carl Friedrich Philipp Von Martius, signature, John
descriptions of Mexico, and a key factor in maintaining Spain’s interest in Murray 1833 pencil note declares “Letters of Cortez given me by Dr Martius
the New World. May 1833”, pictorial bookplate, partly printed in gold.
European Americana, 524/5; Sabin, 16947; Harisse, 125. Medina (BHA) 70; Church, 53.
MAGGS 7
3
Early English Colony in South America
HARCOURT (Robert).
The Relation of a Voyage to Guiana. Describing
the Climate, Situation, Fertilitie, & Commodities
of that Country. Together with the Manner and
Customes of the people… now newly reviewed
& enlarged, by addition of some necessary notes,
for the more ample explaining of some things
mentioned in the said Relation: Together, with
a larger declaration of the famous River of the
Amazones, and the Country therabout. Gathered
from the modern experience of our Country-men.
The Patent for the Plantation of which Country
His majesty hath lately Granted to a Corporation.
Second edition. Small 4to. Very attractive pale green morocco of
c.1820. with glazed green paper pastedowns. gilt, a.e.g. xvi, 84pp.
London, Edwrd. Allde, 1626. £15,000
Although, there were two editions of this tract, both equally rare, events
in the proto-colony had moved somewhat since the publication of the fi rst
edition (1613) and Harcourt in this second edition is clearly attempting to
keep his fl edgling outpost in the public eye and to consolidate his interests
there. In the preface, he asks the King to combine his charter with that
granted to Roger North’s Company. He succeeded in this as the combined
charter was issued in 1627.
Harcourt, with his brother, Michael, had arrived with a party of 60 set-
tlers in 1609; they set up headquarters at the mouth of the river Wiapoco,
and during subsequent exploration Robert Harcourt sailed 150 miles up the
Amazon. He and his bother returned to England but the settlers remained.
Robert returned to Guiana in 1629, dying there in 1631, the colony had
disappeared, and it was not until the 1650s that a permanent English foot-
hold was established in the north of South America.
STC 12755; Alden-Landis 626/62; Sabin 30297.
MAGGS 9
4
From the Imperial Workshop
GO-MIZUNOO (Emperor of Japan).
Hoke-kyo [Lotus Sutra], chapter 23.
“Myoho Rengekyo Yakuo Bosatsu Honji”
[The Act of the Medicine Bodhisattva
as revealed in the Lotus Sutra].
Highly signifi cant manuscript scroll written in gold ink on indigo-
dyed paper, text in seventeen characters per line, arranged in
columns separated by triple gold lines. Top and bottom margin
decorated in gold and silver with scattered gold leaves, the reverse
side decorated entirely in gold and silver with painted fl oral
designs. Measuring 4200 by 276mm. Kansubon. Frontispiece
household there is some argument over who was ultimately responsible for
illustration measuring 285 by 276mm in ink, colour, and gold on
this commission. Various arguments speak for either Go-Mizunoo or his
light purple paper. Original brocade cover with woven title entitled
daughter but it is reasonable to assume that they would have consulted each
‘Yakuo-bon’. Central roller (jiku) and stave (hasso) with original
other before commencing this task.
metalwork applications, the former bearing the Tokugawa-mon
Our scroll conforms in size and design to a copy of chapter eight held
(Tokugawa family crest) on both ends, the latter with the original
in the British Library. The metal applications as well as the design of the
silk cord attached to a fl oral bronze piece in the middle. Occasional
brocade cover and indeed the silk cord are identical. The style of the frontis-
light rubbing but overall in very good condition. N.p., n.d., [but
piece painting also conforms to our scroll, which represents conclusive proof
Kyoto, 1636]. £185,000
that our copy dates from the same year 1636. To celebrate the twenty-fi rst
anniversary of the death of the Shogun Ieyasu the Shogunate undertook
This lavishly decorated manuscript of the twenty-third chapter of the ‘Lotus extensive renovations of the Nikko Toshogu shrine - where Ieyasu was in
Sutra’ originally formed part of a set of twenty-eight scrolls commissioned fact enshrined as a God - and these were completed in 1636. Following
by the retired Japanese Emperor, Go-Mizunoo (1596-1680) - or possibly his Buddhist custom the Imperial household was required to pay respects on
daughter, the Empress Meisho - to commemorate the twenty-fi rst anniver- certain dates, namely the fi rst (1617), seventh (1622), thirteenth (1628),
sary (niju-ichi shinki [this term literally means ‘remembering a God’]) of the seventeenth (1632), and the twenty-fi rst (1636) year after his death, and on
death of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616). In 1620 the Emperor each occasion gifts were presented. To the best of our knowledge the 21st
Go-Mizunoo had been forced to marry Kazuko (1607-1678), the second anniversary of 1636 was the fi rst time that a set of the Lotus Sutra was pre-
daughter of the Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632). When Emperor sented to the Nikko Toshogu and this became a tradition that was repeated
abdicated in 1629, their daughter Okiko (1624-1696) ascended the throne on the 25th, 50th, 100th &150th anniversaries. The text of the Lotus Sutra
as the Empress Meisho (reigned 1629-1643) - one of a very small number itself makes numerous references to the benefi ts that are bestowed on those
of occasions when a female held the throne in Japan. While there is no who write, read, and receive the Lotus Sutra and such a gift may have been
doubt that the scroll was commissioned by a central fi gure in the Imperial regarded as appropriate and useful in afterlife.
MAGGS 11
Generally speaking, copies of the Lotus Sutras are unsigned and undated as well as signatures of ten scribes which had hitherto been hidden by the
and traditionally the scroll in the British Library had been linked to a set roller. It seems entirely plausible that similar information may be included
that was produced on the 50th anniversary. However, when their scroll in our copy of the scroll but we have not had the courage to check. (See:
was stolen in 1986, the thief removed the central roller from the scroll and Yuying Brown: ‘Lost and Found - The revelation of the Lotus Sutra’ in ‘The
when the BL recovered it from a London auction house in 1993 they were British Library OIOC Newsletter’ No. 52 Spring/Summer 1995, p. 13ff).
amazed to fi nd that this act of barbarism had revealed a date of May 1636,
MAGGS 13
5
Important Compilation of Dutch Voyages
to the Pacifi c & East Indies
[COMMELIN (Isaac) ed.]
Begin Ende Voortgangh van de
Vereenighde Nederlantsche Geoctroyeerde
Oost-Indische Compagnie. Amsterdam.
Third edition. 21 parts in 2 vols. Two extra engraved title-pages
(one handcoloured), two large folding maps, plus 228 other maps
& plates. Oblong 4to. Handsome contemporary calf, rebacked with
some very minor restoration, some minor rubbing, engraved title &
one plate in vol. I mounted, minor marginal losses & tears to four
plates, with repairs to tears & folds of 3 plates, large ink-stain to
one leaf of vol. I. [Amsterdam, 1646]. £75,000
The third and best edition of this important collection of voyages made on
behalf of the East India Company. Increasingly scarce, this attractive set is
in the original Dutch binding.
The cornerstone of any research on early Dutch voyages, it contains a
wealth of important material relating to the history of early Pacifi c exploration,
as well as the development of the East Indies. The work includes important
early voyages to the Philippines, China and Japan and, as many of the voy-
ages came from the East, there is a good deal of information on the Straits
of Magellan. Furthermore, it is noteworthy for including some of the only
contemporary information on the voyages of the Duyfken. Skippered by
Willem Janz, it made the fi rst authenticated European sighting of Australia
in 1605. Its preface, by Commelin, contains a summary of Dutch voyages
to the East Indies undertaken before 1631.
Beautifully illustrated, it contains a wonderful assemblage of maps and
plates of native peoples, hunting techniques (including for penguins and
polar bears), Dutch camps and settlements, forts, South American ports,
battle scenes, animals, trees, fruits, and other natural resources.
A full summary of the voyages is available on request. Sabin, 14959, 14960; JCB III,
II:339; Bell, C443; Tiele, 13-14pp.
MAGGS 15
6
With the Routier for the East & West Indies
DASSIE (F., Sieur).
L’Architecture Navale, contenant la Manière
de constuire les Navires, Galères & Chaloupes,
& la Défi nition de plusieurs autres especes
de Vaisseaux. Avec Les Tables des Longitude,
Latitudes & Marées, Cours & distances
des principaux Ports des quatre parties du
Monde; une Description des Dangers, Edueils,
& l’expliaction des Termes de la marine…
[With] Le Routier des Indes Orientales et
Occidentales: Traitant des Saisons propres à y
faire Voyage: Une description des Anchrages,
Profondeurs de plusieurs Havres & Ports d
mer. Avec vingt-six differentes navigations.
First edition. 2 vols. in 1. Eight engraved plates. 4to.
Contemporary speckled calf, spine gilt, somewhat worn at
extremities, head/tail caps chipped. [x], 5-8, 285, [3]; [ii], 209, [3],
[1]errata.pp. Paris, Jean de la Caille, 1677. £6,500
A very good copy of one of the earliest works on naval architecture. Dassie
was a master draughtsman in the naval guards of Toulon and this work
has added importance as a document on Louis XIV’s navy. Furthermore, it
was published at a time when “French ships were looked at as models for
English builders to imitate” (Fincham). Very few chapters in the fi rst work
are devoted to what we would nowadays call ‘naval architecture’. Instead
the majority deal with shipboard operations such as victualling, navigation
and naval tactics. Of additional interest is the accompanying Routier, which
incorporates the East and West Indies, Virginia, Florida, the Cape of Good
Hope, Mombasa, Malacca and Macau.
Fincham, J; A History of Naval Architecture (London, 1851).
MAGGS 17