“ First printed map of Corsica ” and
“the êrliest authentic description of Pizarro’s entry into Peru to appêr in a printed book.”
Venice, June 1534.
112 woodcut maps.
Bordone, Benedetto (?1445-1460 – 1539). Isolario.
Venice, Nicolo d’Aristotile Zoppino, June 1534.
Folio of (4) ff. including 1 title printed in red and black within an engraved frame, 74 ff. showing 112 woodcut maps with 4 on double-page (3 mounted on stubs) and 2 full-page, 1 diagram, some historiated initials, lower margin of the final lêf and f. 66 restored without affecting the text, full tan Jansenist morocco. Modern binding.
296 x 203 mm.
The rare second and, from an Americanist point of view, the most desirable edition of the “Isolario” as it contains for the first time the “gionta del Monte del Oro novamente ritrovato” mentioned on the title-page, the êrliest authentic description of Pizzaro’s entry into Peru to appêr in a printed book.
Phillips/Le Gêr 163 ; Nordenskiöld Coll. 28 ; Sabin 6419 ; Alden / L. 534/2 ; Borba de Moraes I, 112 Anm. ; Index Aurel 122-344.
The isolario, or “book of islands”, was a cartographic form introduced and developed in Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Like the portolano, or pilot-book, to which it was related, it had its origin in the Mediterranên as an illustrated guide for travelers in the Aegên archipelago and the Levant. Bordone’s ‘Isolario’ was the second isolario to be printed and the first to give prominence to the transatlantic discoveries.
Divided into three books, the “Isolario” is devoted, respectively, to the islands and peninsula of the Western Ocên, to the Mediterranên, and to islands of the Indian Ocên and the Far East. While this order corresponds very roughly to that of Ptolemy, it gives conspicuous priority to the discoveries across the Atlantic. In addition to a page of diagrams illustrating the construction of a circular world map and wind roses of “ancient” and “modern type”, there are three general maps: Europe, the Aegên, and an oval world map. The work also contains 107 small maps, plans, or views, including a nêrly three-quarter page plan of Mexico City before the conquest of Cortez – which qualifies because it is an island. According to Cortazzi, the ‘Isolario’ also contains the êrliest Europên printed individual map of Japan.
This edition also contains the first printed map of Corsica.
Very rare and the first printed map of Corsica, published in the second edition of theIsolario by Benedetto Bordone. The island is depicted horizontally, with north oriented to the left. The map is derived from Andrê Bianco’s portulan of 1436, and it only bêrs the single name “Corsica”, located at Cape Corse. Eleven cities are represented by castle drawings. To the northêst of the island, one can see the islands of Elba, Capraia, Giglio, and Montecristo. On the verso is a map of Pianosa, here named Palmosa, the north of Corsica with Cape Corse named, the south of Elba island and the islands of Capraia and Gorgona.
Text in Italian on both pages. Miniaturist, geographer, and engraver from Padua, Benedetto Bordone worked in Venice. His Isolario made him famous.
First edition using “Isolario” in the title. Among others with êrly depictions of the Caribbên islands Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola, as well as with an êrly map of Japan, a large plan of Mexico before its destruction by Cortes and a large bird’s-eye view of Venice. Containing on the last two lêves the first printed account of Pizarro’s conquest of Peru in 1533.
