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Stock# 69232
Description

The Most Important Isolario of the First Half of the 16th Century.

6 double-page woodcut maps and 108 smaller woodcut maps in the text.

Small Folio. Nineteenth-century "forged" binding, by the famed Louis Hague of Belgium. The whole binding with elaborate gilt and hand-painted devices. The central panel framed in white and surrounded by black- green- and red-painted botanical and strapwork designs. Front and back covers with "DHD" monogram surmounted by a gilt crown and necklace device.  The spine in eight compartments separated by raised bands.

Collation: [AA]-[AAiv], BB-[BBii], [CC]-[CCii], DD-[DDii], A-[Avi], B-[Bvi], C-[Cvi], D-[Dvi], E-[Eiv], F-[Fii], G-[Gvi], H-[Hvi], I-[Ivi], K-[Kvi], L-[Lvi], M-[Mvi], N-[Nviii].

Books of islands or Isolario were very popular in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy. Several very early manuscript volumes are known, while the earliest printed Isolario was published c.1485 by Sonetti and consisted of 49 maps of islands in the Greek Archipelago. Bordone’s island book, which first appeared in 1528 and was the second printed Isolario, greatly expanded the subject matter as it attempted to chart the islands of the entire world. His work is of particular significance for its fine oval world map and for “the first printed map specifically of North America” -- Suarez.

For many years, Bordone’s world map was thought to be the first map drawn on an oval projection, but it was actually based on the extremely rare map by Francesco Rosselli compiled c.1508. Unlike the Rosselli, Bordone’s map omits all Antarctic lands and separates the continents of Asia and America. The lines crossing the map represent six wind directions, which are named in scripted text outside the map’s edge. Because the Rosselli map is so rare, this map by Bordone is the earliest obtainable map to use an oval projection. “In his world map Bordone has essentially provided an outline, with graceful italic script and numerals on each of the islands, providing a reference for the more detailed maps to follow” -- Shirley.

Of great interest is the small, unassuming woodblock map on the verso of page VI [pictured above], which has the distinction of being the first printed map of the North American continent. The map bears the words Terra de Lavoratore, which come from el lavrador, a nickname for a Portuguese-Azorean adventurer named Joao Fernandes. According to Suarez, “Fernandes may have tried his luck at western voyages under the Portuguese flag as early as Columbus had under the Spanish flag.” While the woodblock lacks detail, Stretto pte del modo novo depicts the area corresponding to the latitude of the Caribbean, and the land mass shown below it represents South America. The fictitious Atlantic islands of Brasil and Asmaide appear here alongside the Azores, as they did on other maps of the period.

The late edition contains Copia della lettre del profetto della India la Nova Spagna, which gives the earliest printed account of the conquest of Peru by Pizarro in 1533. Bordone’s volume also contains a plan of Temistitan or Mexico City before its destruction by Cortez.

Louis Hague Bindings

Louis Hague made retrospective bindings that are sometimes classified as forgeries. Examples of his bindings can be found at the British Library and Folger Shakespeare Library. This hand-painted leather binding was made in the style of a deluxe 16th-century Italian binding.

Reference
See Burden North America 8; See Shirley World 59; Adams B-2485; Ahmanson-Murphy IIIa:335; Alden and Landis 540/5; Church 86; Harrise 221; JCB (3) I:122; Mortimer Italian 82; Phillips 164; Sabin 6421.
Benedetto Bordone Biography

Benedetto Bordone (1460-1531) was a polymath who was born in Padua and worked in Venice. He was an illuminator, engraver, miniaturist, editor, and geographer. It is possible he made the first globe in Italy. His most famous work is the Isolario, or Book of Islands, which included many of the earliest printed maps of islands in the New World.

Bordone, a prominent Venetian manuscript editor, miniaturist, and cartographer, was born in Padua, a city that was then part of the Republic of Venice. Although his exact date of birth remains unknown, historical records indicate that his parents married in Padua in 1442, and he himself was married in 1480. Bordone's contributions to the field of cartography, particularly through his seminal work, Isolario, have cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in the Renaissance cartographic tradition.

Bordone's most renowned work, Isolario (The Book of Islands), printed in Venice in 1528, is a comprehensive compilation that describes all the known islands of the world. The book offers detailed accounts of each island's folklore, myths, cultures, climates, geographical situations, and historical narratives. It stands as a testament to the popularity of the isolario genre in 15th and 16th century Italy and serves as an illustrated guide for sailors, incorporating the era's latest transatlantic discoveries.

One of the notable features of Isolario is an oval depiction of the world, a map type invented by Bordone. This innovation was later formalized into the equal-area elliptical Mollweide projection three centuries afterward. Bordone's map portrays a distorted view of the New World, showing only the northern regions of South America and depicting North America as a large island labeled Terra del Laboratore (Land of the Worker), a likely reference to the region's active slave trade during that period, which also influenced the name Labrador.

The book also contains the earliest known printed account of Francisco Pizarro's conquest of Peru, making it a significant historical document. Among the numerous woodcut maps included in Isolario, twelve are dedicated to the Americas. These maps feature a plan of "Temistitan" (Tenochtitlan, modern Mexico City) before its destruction by Hernán Cortés, and a map of Ciampagu, the earliest known European-printed map of Japan depicted as an island.

Benedetto Bordone's familial connections are also of interest; he is reputed to have been the father of Julius Caesar Scaliger, a noted classical scholar, and the grandfather of Joseph Justus Scaliger, who is recognized as the founder of the science of historical chronology. The original maps from Bordone's Isolario are highly valued today for their historical significance and intricate craftsmanship. Through his work, Bordone has left an indelible mark on the history of cartography, providing invaluable insights into the geographical knowledge and cultural perceptions of his time.