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Os Lusiadas. Commentary by Pedro and Francisco Pisco. Lisbon: Manuel de Lyra, 1584.
Details
CAMÕES, Luis de (c.1524-1580)
Os Lusiadas. Commentary by Pedro and Francisco Pisco. Lisbon: Manuel de Lyra, 1584.
The important ‘Piscos’ edition: the first edition with commentary, the second edition overall, following the 2 issues of the 1572 edition. Brothers Pedro and Francisco Pisco provided the commentary to explicate literary, mythological and historical references. The final section contains their commentary on mathematical and geographical aspects which are ‘important for those who navigate in parts of India’. This edition is ‘even rarer than the first edition of 1572’ (Pinto).
The Lusiads is perhaps the earliest European seafaring narrative with truly globalizing aspirations. It tells of the first voyage of Vasco da Gama, the first European to reach India by sea. Serving as a defining text of 16th-century globalization, The Lusiads records Portugal’s rise as a global power through Vasco da Gama’s disruption of the Venetian spice trade. It was written during a period of exile for Camões in Macau and published after he returned to Portugal. Not only has it become the Portuguese national epic, essential in shaping the Portuguese language, but it represents the beginning of Indo-Portuguese relationships, describing early encounters, traditions and topography.
Camões recognises this moment in which Portugal became a key player in the development of the world and writes this epic to meet the age, positioning Vasco da Gama as a progenitor of Portuguese colonialism. Portugal sought, through da Gama’s voyage, to disrupt and divert the flow of spices from the Orient, and particularly India, into Venice. They were ultimately successful in this effort, and, by the sixteenth century, Portugal handled three-quarters of the European spice trade. Pinto de Mattos, Manual Bib. Portuguez, p.89; Salva 502n.
Small octavo (130 x 89mm). Title with printer’s device with type-ornament frame, larger printer’s device at the end of the table, wood/metalcut historiated initials, type-ornament head/tailpieces, architectural vignette on final verso (minor repairs in title, some light toning, a few small spots, a few minor marginal tears). Near-contemporary calf over thin pasteboard, flat spine tooled in gold, red speckled edges (a little worn, minor repairs, newer endpapers); modern red morocco-backed folding case. Provenance: José Mindlin (1914 -2010; bookplate).
Os Lusiadas. Commentary by Pedro and Francisco Pisco. Lisbon: Manuel de Lyra, 1584.
The important ‘Piscos’ edition: the first edition with commentary, the second edition overall, following the 2 issues of the 1572 edition. Brothers Pedro and Francisco Pisco provided the commentary to explicate literary, mythological and historical references. The final section contains their commentary on mathematical and geographical aspects which are ‘important for those who navigate in parts of India’. This edition is ‘even rarer than the first edition of 1572’ (Pinto).
The Lusiads is perhaps the earliest European seafaring narrative with truly globalizing aspirations. It tells of the first voyage of Vasco da Gama, the first European to reach India by sea. Serving as a defining text of 16th-century globalization, The Lusiads records Portugal’s rise as a global power through Vasco da Gama’s disruption of the Venetian spice trade. It was written during a period of exile for Camões in Macau and published after he returned to Portugal. Not only has it become the Portuguese national epic, essential in shaping the Portuguese language, but it represents the beginning of Indo-Portuguese relationships, describing early encounters, traditions and topography.
Camões recognises this moment in which Portugal became a key player in the development of the world and writes this epic to meet the age, positioning Vasco da Gama as a progenitor of Portuguese colonialism. Portugal sought, through da Gama’s voyage, to disrupt and divert the flow of spices from the Orient, and particularly India, into Venice. They were ultimately successful in this effort, and, by the sixteenth century, Portugal handled three-quarters of the European spice trade. Pinto de Mattos, Manual Bib. Portuguez, p.89; Salva 502n.
Small octavo (130 x 89mm). Title with printer’s device with type-ornament frame, larger printer’s device at the end of the table, wood/metalcut historiated initials, type-ornament head/tailpieces, architectural vignette on final verso (minor repairs in title, some light toning, a few small spots, a few minor marginal tears). Near-contemporary calf over thin pasteboard, flat spine tooled in gold, red speckled edges (a little worn, minor repairs, newer endpapers); modern red morocco-backed folding case. Provenance: José Mindlin (1914 -2010; bookplate).
Brought to you by
Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts