| Record ID | cp011297 |
| Voet reference number | 1517A |
| Museum Plantin-Moretus | c:lvd:1132946 |
| Author | Jean LEON L’AFRICAIN |
| Title page transcription | HISTORIALE ‖ DESCRIPTION ‖ DE L'AFRIQVE, TIER= ‖ CE PARTIE DV MONDE, ‖ Contenant ses Royaumes, Regions, Viles, Citez, ‖ Chateaus & forteresses: Iles, Fleuues, Ani- ‖ maus, tant aquatiques, que terrestres: coutu- ‖ mes, loix, religion & façon de faire des habitas, ‖ auec pourtraits de leurs habis: ensemble autres ‖ choses memorables, & singulieres nouueautez: ‖ Escrite de nôtre temps par IEAN LEON, African, ‖ premierement en langue Arabesque, puis en Tos- ‖ cane, & à present mise en François. ‖ ⊕ 5 EN ANVERS. ‖ De l'Imprimerie de Christophle ‖ Plantin. ‖ 1556. ‖ AVEC PRIVILEGE. |
| Collation | 8º [114]: *-**⁸, A-Z⁸, Aa-Zz⁸, a-e⁸, f⁴, g-i⁸; folios [1r-16v], 1r-412v, [413r-436v] (Errors: 232-231-234-233-236-235-238-237-240, 394 for 402, 396 for 404, 398 for 406, 400 for 408) |
| Fingerprint | 155608 - # a1 *2 e,$ : # a2 2*5 re$de$ - # b1 A - : # b2 i5 eu |
| Number of sheets | |
| Pages | [1r]: Title [1v]: Blank [2r-3v]: A treshaut et trespuissant prince, Francois aisné fils de France, dauphin de Viennoys, Iean Temporal perpetuelle félicité [4r-7r]: A illustre seigneur Hierome Fracastor, Iean Baptiste Rhamusio, salut (italic type) [7v-8v]: Sommaire commendation de l'histoire aphricane (italic type) [9r-13v]: Table (italic type) [14r-15r]: F. Adrien du Hecquet au lecteur [15v-16r]: Au lecteur [16v]: Le pourtrait et figure de l'Afrique: illustration 1r-412v: Text (italic type, parts and marginals in roman type) [413r-436r]: Index (on two columns) [436v]: ⊕ 4 |
| Edition information | |
| Illustrations | Woodcuts: 1) 5 illustrations, 50 × 67, four with allegorical representations, on [16v] (Africa), 16v (Arabia), 350v (Aegyptus), 356r (Alexandria), 393r (Nilus), the fifth, on 396v (= for 404v), showing how crocodiles are caught 2) 11 illustrations, 75 × 60, showing people, animals and scenes of Africa, on 22v, 24r, 28v, 55r, 91r, 167r, 168r, 171v, 196v, 371v, 382r 3) 2 illustrations, c. 68 × c. 42, representing trees, on 410r and 410v. Most woodcuts have the monogram of the woodcutter Arnold Nicolai |
| Copies | Museum Plantin-Moretus- R 2.29British Library LondonBibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque de l’ArsenalPostel Abbey |
| Bibliographical references | Ruelens-de Backer, pages 9-10 (1556, no. 1) G. Atkinson, La littérature géographique française de la Renaissance, Paris, 1927, no. 109Cockx-Indestege, E. Belgica typographica 6159 |
| Online bibliographical references | STCV c:stcv:12919586 |
| Note 1 | This famous description of Africa in 9 'books' (more specifically North Africa, but the 7th book treating 'du pays des Noirs' to the South of the Sahara) was first published in Italian in Venice by Giovanni Baptista Rhamusio (Ramusio) in his Navigationi e Viaggi, I (1st edition in 1550; second in 1554). |
| Note 2 | A French translation, in folio, was issued in Lyons by Jean Temporal in 1556 (a copy in Museum Plantin-Moretus, 2-106). It is stated on page [12] of this edition that the work was finished on 4 January 1556. In the dedicatory of Rhamusio, retaken by Temporal, useful biographical details are given on Leon l'Africain. |
| Note 3 | Plantin copied this Lyons-publication, including the dedicatories of Jean Temporal and Rhamusio and the illustrations. |
| Note 4 | A number of copies received a title-page with the imprint of Plantin's Antwerp colleague, Jean Bellère. |
| Note 5 | A Latin translation by Joannes Florianus, without illustrations, was published in Antwerp in that same year 1556, but by Joannes Latius and not by Plantin (a copy in Museum Plantin-Moretus, R 19.17). |
| Note 6 | Six 'Description d'Aphrique' were sold to Gerard Spelman in January 1556 (Arch. 38, folio 11v), but it is likely that these were in fact copies of the Lyons-edition. Other sales in 1556 included 18 copies, worth 9 florins Carolus guilders, to Jehan Mallet in Rouen on 9 November (Arch. 34, page 9), and 12, worth 5 florins Carolus guilders 8 stuivers, to Arnold Langelier in Paris on 14 November (Ibid., page 11). Later sales in 1558, 1559 and 1561 are mentioned in Arch. 34, pages 20, 22, 28, 37, and Arch. 36, folio 5v. |
| Note 7 | Listed in M 296, folio 9r (Historiale description de l'Affriq., in 8º, aº 1556, f[euilles] 56½, [price:] stuivers 8) and folio 5r (Description d'Affrique, in 8º, aº -, f[euilles] -, [price:] stuivers 8), and M 164, folio 10r. |
| Further reading |
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