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The Lusiad. Translated by Richard Fanshawe. London: Humphrey Moseley, 1655.
Details
CAMÕES, Luis de (c.1524-1580)
The Lusiad. Translated by Richard Fanshawe. London: Humphrey Moseley, 1655.
First edition in English, from collection of Sir William Boothby. Richard Fanshawe’s translation was the first of its kind for an important Portuguese text in Britain and coincided with British increasing naval power. It bespoke also the political climate in England; Fanshaw was a royalist, and this text, published in the wake of Cromwell’s turn in power, was a vehicle for affirming the sentiments of the translator. After the publication of his translation, which elevated him not just in England but also among the Portuguese elites, Fanshawe was appointed ambassador to Portugal from the Court of St James, and during his service, he negotiated the marriage of the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza to King Charles II of England.
Sir William Boothby, knighted in 1660 and sheriff of Derbyshire in 1661-62, resided at Ashbourne Hall in Derbyshire. He was a passionate bibliophile, forming a collection of c. 6,000 books; he famously wrote that ‘My books are the great joy of my life’ (ODNB). This volume was subsequently owned by Basil Thomas Fanshawe (1857-1944), a tea planter in Ceylon and later Lord of the Manor of Bratton Fleming. He was directly related to Richard Fanshawe, translator of this volume; his elder brother, Evelyn John Fanshawe, was the last of the Fanshawes to own Parsloe. His son, Captain Aubrey Fanshawe (1893-1973), was a naval officer whose decorations include the 1914-1918 medal, the Royal Human Society's medals for saving life at sea, the Portuguese Military Order of Avis (Chevalier) and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. Pinto de Mattos, Manual Bib. Portuguez, p.114.
Folio (278 x 177mm). Engraved portrait frontispiece, two engraved plates of Prince Henry of Portugal and Vasco da Gama, woodcut and type ornament headpieces and initials (light dampstaining). Contemporary English calf, gilt Boothby crest on sides, red speckled edges (somewhat worn, restored and rebacked). Provenance: Sir William Boothby, 1st baronet (1637-1707; signature on title and crest on binding) – Basil Thomas Fanshawe, Bratton, N. Devon (bookplate), Aubrey Fanshawe (inscription, ‘Aubrey Fanshawe from his father, 19th-century annotations in pencil).
The Lusiad. Translated by Richard Fanshawe. London: Humphrey Moseley, 1655.
First edition in English, from collection of Sir William Boothby. Richard Fanshawe’s translation was the first of its kind for an important Portuguese text in Britain and coincided with British increasing naval power. It bespoke also the political climate in England; Fanshaw was a royalist, and this text, published in the wake of Cromwell’s turn in power, was a vehicle for affirming the sentiments of the translator. After the publication of his translation, which elevated him not just in England but also among the Portuguese elites, Fanshawe was appointed ambassador to Portugal from the Court of St James, and during his service, he negotiated the marriage of the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza to King Charles II of England.
Sir William Boothby, knighted in 1660 and sheriff of Derbyshire in 1661-62, resided at Ashbourne Hall in Derbyshire. He was a passionate bibliophile, forming a collection of c. 6,000 books; he famously wrote that ‘My books are the great joy of my life’ (ODNB). This volume was subsequently owned by Basil Thomas Fanshawe (1857-1944), a tea planter in Ceylon and later Lord of the Manor of Bratton Fleming. He was directly related to Richard Fanshawe, translator of this volume; his elder brother, Evelyn John Fanshawe, was the last of the Fanshawes to own Parsloe. His son, Captain Aubrey Fanshawe (1893-1973), was a naval officer whose decorations include the 1914-1918 medal, the Royal Human Society's medals for saving life at sea, the Portuguese Military Order of Avis (Chevalier) and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. Pinto de Mattos, Manual Bib. Portuguez, p.114.
Folio (278 x 177mm). Engraved portrait frontispiece, two engraved plates of Prince Henry of Portugal and Vasco da Gama, woodcut and type ornament headpieces and initials (light dampstaining). Contemporary English calf, gilt Boothby crest on sides, red speckled edges (somewhat worn, restored and rebacked). Provenance: Sir William Boothby, 1st baronet (1637-1707; signature on title and crest on binding) – Basil Thomas Fanshawe, Bratton, N. Devon (bookplate), Aubrey Fanshawe (inscription, ‘Aubrey Fanshawe from his father, 19th-century annotations in pencil).
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