L'ART DE NAVIGUER de M. Pierre de Medine, Espagnol: Contenant les reigles, secrets et enseignemens necessaires a la bonne navigation, by MEDINA, Pedro de.:

Lyon, Guillaume Rouille, 1569.. traduict de Castillan en Francois avec augmentation et illustration de plusieurs figures & annotations, par Nicolas de Nicolaï, de Dauphine, Geographe du Tres-chrestien Roy Henry II. THIRD EDITION 1569 of the French translation of the Spanish original, small 4to, approximately 240 x 170 mm, 9½ x 6¾ inches, publisher's device of eagle, 2 snakes and 4 putti to title page, LACKING THE MAP AND 7 PAGES, (THE MAP AND ALL MISSING PAGES ARE REPLACED WITH FACSIMILES TIPPED IN, WHICH ARE LIGHTLY BROWNED, THE MAP IS NOT SHARP AND ITS SMALL PRINT IS HARD TO READ, THE FACSIMILE TEXT PAGES ARE CLEAR AND READABLE, (IMAGES CAN BE SENT ON REQUEST), 86 woodcuts in the text, of which 55 purely geometric, 1 of ships, 1 a small map of the entire world, decorated initials, a few historiated, pages: (6 of 8), 1-224 of 225, (4 of 6), LACKING fo. *4 (final leaf of Proeme, (Foreword), k4 (final leaf of Tiers Livre des Vens, page 79/80), F1 (final page of text, page 225), and F4 (last leaf of the Table at the end). Bound in modern cream vellum with ties, neat ink hand lettering to spine, new endpapers. Original front endpaper silked on verso to repair large chips to fore-edge, title page also silked, neat repair to lower corner and a few chips to edges, early owner has written his name (crossed through) and the title of the book on title page, plus a few small doodles, fore-edge and top edge a little dusty, occasional small pale brown stains, a couple of pale ink letters written on 1 illustration, a little faint writing on another, fore-edge of 1 leaf very slightly torn with tiny chip, due to paper flaw. A very good clean, tight copy (MAP, 3 PAGES OF TEXT, 1 PAGE OF PRELIMS AND 1 LEAF OF TABLE REPLACED WITH FACSIMILES, AS NOTED). Housed in a sturdy custom made green cloth-bound clamshell box with green gilt lettered morocco label. First published in Spanish in Valladolid in 1545, the first French edition was published by Rouille in 1554 and reprinted in 1561. Pedro de Medina (1493-1567) a cleric and sometime librarian to the Duke of Medina-Sidonia was asked to prepare charts and other navigational aids by the Emperor Charles V. 4 years after the book was published he was appointed Royal Cosmographer for Spain. He had first hand knowledge of the New World having sailed with Cortes and his book was the first practical treatise on compass navigation and a key work in the development of transatlantic exploration. Rubens Borba de Moraes, Bibliographia Brasiliana, Volume II, page 49; Sabin, Books Relating to America, 47344; Bloomsbury, De Orbe Novo Collection, No. 27; Jacques-Charles Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, Volume III, 1573; Adams, Catalogue of European Books 1501-1600, Volume I, 1028; Harvard College Library, French 16th Century Books, Volume 2, page 467, No 369. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE. FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.