ALVARES, Francisco. Ho Preste Joam das indias. Verdadera informaam das terras do Preste Joam... Agora novamete impresso. Lisbon: Luis Rodriguez, 1540. 2o. Large woodcut on title, heightened with red, title printed in red and black, numerous initial woodcuts, woodcut printer's device on last leaf (M6 with tiny hole to text). Contemporary limp vellum, thong ties (one tie broken); morocco slipcase. Provenance: Boies Penrose (bookplate, sale Sotheby's London, 7 June 1971, lot 7). FIRST EDITION. A rare and very influential work on overseas exploration. This is the first printed account of travels to Abyssinia, based on (sometimes exaggerated) first-hand knowledge of Alvares. He was appointed chaplain to the Mission which the king of Portugal sent to Abyssinia under the direction of Rodrigues da Lima, the first permanent European embassy to an independent African power south of the Sahara. Alvares remained in Abyssinia for six years, and returned to Lisbon in 1526-27. Adams A-850; K. Manuel Early Portuguese Books II, 42. A VERY FINE COPY.