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SPECIAL LIST 137

EIGHTEEN CHOICE BOOKS
IN THE
SPANISH, PORTUGUESE AND
ENGLISH LANGUAGES

November 2007




First Edition in Spanish of an Important Work on Optics

1. EUCLID. La perspectiva, y especularia de Euclides. Traduzidas en vulgar castellano . . . por Pedro Ambrosio Onderiz. Madrid: Viuda de Alonso Gomez, 1585. 4°, nineteenth-century quarter calf, spine gilt with leather label, marbled edges (light wear). Woodcut royal arms on title-page, woodcut initials, numerous woodcut diagrams in text. Short tear in lower margin of title, without loss; some very slight scattered browning and spotting. A fine copy. Faint contemporary inscription at foot of title-page. Bookplate of Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta. (6), 60 ll. $12,000.00

Rare first edition in Spanish of the Optica et catoptrica. The Perspectiva was translated by Pedro Ambrosio Onderiz, who in 1582 had been appointed by Philip II to a chair in the newly established Academia de Matemáticas. Although Onderiz was expressly charged with the translation of scientific works into Spanish, he published no other works. By 1595 Onderiz had been appointed cosmógrafo mayor, in which capacity he intended to correct various cartographical errors which unduly favored Portuguese territorial claims, but his death in 1596 prevented this.

It is likely that Spanish painters of the Golden Age consulted this work. The only earlier work by Euclid that had been translated into Spanish was Los seis libros primeros de la geometria, Seville 1576; prior to that, the only printing of Euclid in Spain was a truncated Mathematicae quaedam selectae, Alcalá 1566.

The Especularia has separate title-page, licencia, aprobacion, prologue and colophon, all dated 1584, but the quire signatures and pagination continue from the Perspectiva.

Provenance: Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta (1825–1894), born in Mexico City of a family of Spanish landed gentry, was a philologist and an important historian of the Spanish colonial period, as well as one of the leading Mexican bibliophiles and bibliographers of the nineteenth century. He published Apuntes para un catálogo de escritores en lenguas indígenas de América (1866); the masterly biography Don Fray Juan de Zumárraga, primer Obispo y Arzobispo de México (1881, various later editions); La bibliografía mexicana del siglo XVI (1886), a model of bibliographical erudition; Colección de documentos para la historia de México (2 volumes 1858 1866); followed by Nueva colección de documentos para la historia de México (5 volumes 1886-1892); an edition of the Arte de la lengua maya, of fray Gabriel de San Buenaventura (1888); the Opúsculos Inéditos, latinos y castellanos, of Francisco Javier Alegre (1889), as well as other translations, critical editions and documentary collections. He was one of the founders and the first Secretary of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (1875–1883), and was that institution's third Director (1883-1894), being responsible for the publication of the first volumes of the Academia's Memorias.

. . . * Palau 84722. Perez Pastor 219. Beardsley 103: locating one copy, at the University of Pennsylvania. Picatoste y Rodríguez 571. Catálogo colectivo E904: locating seven copies in Spain. Antonio II, 169-70. Salvá 2569. Heredia 508. Not in HSA. Not in Ticknor Catalog. Not in Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Livros quinhentistas espanhóis. NUC: CU (lacking title page), WU.

First Appearance of Euclid in Spanish

2. EUCLID. Los seis libros primeros dela geometria de Euclides. Traduzidos en legua española por Rodrigo Çamorano astrologo y mathematico, y cathedratico de cosmographia por su Magestad en la casa de la Contratació de Seuilla. Dirigidos al jllustre señor Luciano de Negró, canogigo dela sancta yglesia de Seuilla. Seville: en casa de Alonso de la Barrera, 1576. 4°, contemporary limp vellum in a recent quarter brick red morocco folding box. Large woodcut arms of dedicatee on title-page. Numerous woodcut geometric designs in text. Woodcut initials; woodcut vignette tailpiece. Light dampstain in lower blank margin of final 20 leaves. Overall a fine, crisp copy. Bookplate: From the Landau library, number 64704. 121 [1] ll. A4, B-P8, Q4, R2. A4 signed "4", M2 missigned "M3". Leaf 11 unnumbered, 51 misnumbered 42, 78 misnumbered 70, 84 misnumbered 76, 103 misnumbered 102, 105 misnumbered 108, and 116 misnumbered 108. $18,000.00

First Edition in Spanish, and the only edition of this translation prior to a Salamanca 1999 reprint. With the exception of a truncated Mathematicae quaedam selectae, Alcalá 1566, it is also the first printing of any text by Euclid in Spain, in any language. Zamorano (born 1542) was professor of cosmography at the Casa de la Contratación de las Indias, as well as an astrologer and mathematician. He later became piloto mayor to King Philip II and wrote the official navigation manual of the Spanish Navy at the time of the Armada. In the present book, he emphasizes the sciences of mechanics, astronomy, and cosmography.

Thomas–Stanford comments that this volume has the appearance of a schoolbook, which would account for its rarity, and that the few copies he had been able to examine were rather worn (pp. 16–17).

. . . * Thomas–Stanford 43. Adams E1018. BL Pre–1601 Spanish STC p. 74 (British Library copy with title-page mutilated). Palau 84721. Beardsley 95 (listing copies at BN, Madrid and University of Michigan). Catálogo colectivo E903. Salvá 2570. Hererdia 4494. Steck III, 88. Duarte, Euclides, Arquimedes, Newton, pp. 46, 48. Honeyman 1011. Riccardi, Bib. euclidea, 1576 (1). Not in HSA. NUC: MiU, MB. OCLC adds copies at IUL, BUD, HHG, RBN, and NLW. RLIN adds copies at Brown, U. of Michigan, Harvard. Not in Orbis (which lists the Salamanca 1999 edition at SML).

Earliest Example of
English Trial Literature Involving a Jew
Brazilian Jewish Author Not Known to Borba de Moraes
or Sacramento Blake

3. [FARIA, Francisco de]. The information of Francisco de Faria, delivered at the bar of the House of Commons, Monday the first day of November . . . 1680. Perused and signed to be printed, according to the order of the House of Commons, by me William Williams, Speaker. London: Printed by the assigns of John Bill, Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills, Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty, 1680. Folio (29 x 17.6 cm.). recent quarter antique calf over marbled boards, spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, burgundy leather lettering piece, gilt letter. Large woodcut English royal arms on title page. A fine, crisp, large margined copy. (2 ll.), 12 pp. $1,800.00

FIRST EDITION of this notorious Popish Plot "disclosure" involving an obscure Jew born in Brazil, in the ostentatious manner of Titus Oates and Captain Bedloe, which was greeted by the Whigs in Parliament as an opportunity to intensify anti–Catholic hysteria. In an autobiographical pamphlet published later in the same year, Francisco de Faria says that he was born "at Pernambuco in Brazile . . . in the year 1653, from whence I was by my parents brought into Holland, in the tender year of my infancy, and continued there till the year 1662, at what time I came hither into England . . ." He identifies himself as the son of John de Faria, "a gentleman of St. Giles–in–the–Fields . . . The name de Faria was not unkown in London at that period. Several of the name seem to have been attached to the household of Queen Catherine and were members of her suite when she came from Portugal . . ."—Freidman, p.128f.

In 1678, Faria entered the service of the Portuguese Ambassador to England as an interpreter; through a series of contacts he uncovered and infiltrated an alleged plot to do away with Oates, Bedloe, and Lord Shaftsbury. For his services as an informant Faria received a royal pension amounting to sixty–eight pounds over the next two years. There is a full account of the espisode in Lee Friedman, Early American Jews, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1934, pp. 127–145; see also, by the same author, "Francisco de Faria, an American Jew, and the Popish Plot" in Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, XX, 115–32 (1911).

In Roth's chronological listing by topic, this is the earliest example of English trial literature involving a Jew.

. . . * Wing F–425. Roth, Magna bibliotheca Angol–Judiaca: a Bibliographic Guide to Anglo–Jewish History, pp. 125 and 248. Not in Borba de Morais (1983) or Período colonial (both of which list a Francisco de Faria born in 1708 in Goiana, Pernambuco). Not in Sacramento Blake (who lists a Francisco de Faria born in Bahia, probably in the early eighteenth century). Not in Innocêncio (who lists a Father Francisco de Faria e Aragão, S.J., born 1726 in Vila de Castello de Ferreira de Aves). Not in Kayserling. Not in Ladron de Guevara and Salvador Barahona. Melvyl lists electronic and microfilm copies only.

First & Most Fundamental Biographies of Camões, Barros & Couto,
and the First Published Portrait of Camões

4. FARIA, Manoel Severim de. Discursos varios politicos. Évora: Manoel de Carvalho, 1624. 4°, nineteenth–century (final quarter) dark green quarter morocco over marbled boards, spine divided into compartments with fillets in gilt and blind, gilt lettering and numbering, edges sprinkled, lighter green endleaves. Large engraved coat-of-arms on title-page, typographical ruled borders, woodcut letters and vignettes, engraved portraits of João de Barros and Luís de Camões. Light staining to title-page; very occasional small light waterstains; internally very good to fine; overall a very good to fine copy. Small contemporary ownship inscription in lower outer margin of title-page. Oblong blue on white printed ex–libris of Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho in upper outer corner of front pastedown endleaf (pasted over an earlier ticket, which appears to have been partially removed). (6), 185 ll. [quire V of 6 leaves rather than 8, but pagination follows], 2 engraved portraits. Leaf X4 missigned X2; leaf Y4 missigned X4. Leaves 47, 50, 114, 170, and 181 misnumbered 45, 51, 115, 179, and 174, respectively. $4,200.00

FIRST EDITION. A second edition, which appeared in 1791, does not contain any portraits. The Discursos has biographies of three of the greatest literary figures of sixteenth-century Portugal—Luis de Camões, João de Barros, and Diogo do Couto—plus essays on the Spanish rule of Portugal, the Portuguese language, hunting, and Portuguese ecclesiastical vestments. The biography of Camões (ff. 87r-135r) is among the first written on that poet: the Canto collection cites only 3 earlier references to his life, the first 2 very brief. Many details that were only briefly mentioned in the third source, Pedro Mariz's comments on the 1613 edition of Os Lusiadas, are elucidated by Severim de Faria: for instance, Camões's ancestry, his trips to India and the Moluccas, and his final years. Severim de Faria also analyzes the importance of Camões as a poet and puts him into the contemporary cultural context.

The biographies of João de Barros (f. 22r-59r) and Diogo do Couto (f. 148r-157r) are equally fundamental. Boxer describes the one on Barros as "still the basic biography, on which all later ones are built" (João de Barros, p. 153), and he used the Couto biography as the main source for that author in Three Historians of Portuguese Asia (p. 30, n. 17).

The first published portrait of Camões appears in the Discursos; all later portraits are based on this or one by Vila Franca Malagon that appeared in 1639. The portrait of Barros is the second to appear of that author, and served as the model for later portraits; it is unsigned but is attributed by Soares to F. Heylan. The second edition of this work (Varios discursos politicos, Lisbon 1791) did not include either portrait.

Soares calls for an engraved portrait of Diogo do Couto by Franciscus Heylan, as do Soares and Campos Ferreira Lima in Diccionário iconografico portugues. However, that portrait appears to have been suppressed, if indeed it ever belonged in the work. Only the Azevedo-Samodães and Avila-Perez catalogues describe 3 portraits, and they may be describing the same copy, since Avila-Perez purchased much of his collection at the Azevedo-Samodães sale. The copy at the Biblioteca Nacional in Lisbon has only 2 portraits, as does the copy described in Ameal. Of the 3 copies listed by NUC, the Harvard copy (Palha 1938) and the Newberry Library copy have only 2 portraits, and the New York Public Library copy has none. We have seen only 5 other copies of this work on the market since 1969, none with the Couto portrait.

Severim de Faria (1583-1655), a native of Lisbon, is best known for this work and his Noticias de Portugal, Lisbon 1655. His Relação universal do que succedeu em Portugal . . . Lisbon 1626, is considered the first periodical published in Portugal, and includes a famous account of the loss and reconquest of Bahia. Severim de Faria was Resende's successor in archeology, and his fame came to rival that of his uncle; he also collected a choice library of rare books. Innocêncio describes Severim de Faria as "um escriptor geralmente respeitavel, e que nas suas obras deixou muito bons subsidios para a historia civil, não menos que para a da litteratura, da lingua, e da critica litteraria em Portugal. A sua dicção e geralmente pura e fulente . . ."

Provenance: Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho (1846–1910), born in the freguesia de Cabaços, concelho de Alvaiázere, arrived in Lisbon as a young man, was brought into the business of his uncle / father–in–law, and acquired a great fortune importing exotic lumber. He was a passionate book collector, frequenting auctions and bookshops from the 1860s until shortly prior to his death. Among the sales he attended and purchased at were those of Sir Gubian (1867), the Visconde de Juromenha (1887), José da Silva Mendes and Jorge César de Figanière (1889), the Condes de Linhares (1895), and José Maria Nepomuceno (1887).

. . . * Innocêncio VI, 106-7. Canto, Collecção Camoniana 436. Lisbon, Biblioteca Nacional, Os Lusiadas 1572-1972, 776: with 2 portraits. Arouca F22. Barbosa Machado II, 369–72. Pinto de Mattos (1970) p. 266. Brunet II, 1183. Gulbenkian Foundation, Quatrième centenaire de Os Lusiadas 1572-1972, 218: does not state number of portraits. Palha 1938: with 2 portraits. Azevedo-Samodães 3167: with reproductions of 3 portraits. Soares, História da gravura artística em Portugal 1185-86. Soares & Campos Ferreira Lima, Diccionário de iconografia portuguesa I, 232 and 363. Bell, Portuguese Literature pp. 215-6. Saraiva & Lopes, História da literatura portugues (1972) pp. 586-7. NUC: NN, ICN, MH.




5. FLEGETONTE, El Capitán. La Cryselia de Lidaceli, famosa, y verdadera historia de varios acontecimientos de amor, y armas, Con graciosas digressiones, de encantamientos, y coloquios pastoriles. Del Capitan Flegetonte comico inflamado . . . Paris: Joseph Cottereau, 1609. 8°, contemporary (French?) limp vellum (front hinge cracked, spine darkened, lacks ties). Woodcut headpieces and initials. Verse portions set in italic type. Some light dampstaining at end. Overall a very good to fine, unsophisticated copy. Early letterpress owner's label pasted to blank portion of title has first few letters torn off: "[?]th. Rothomag." (i.e., of Rouen). (4 ll.), 253, (1) pp., (1 l. errata). $15,000.00

FIRST EDITION, rare, of this novel in prose and verse about the adventures of the Duchess Cryselia. Following the example of Don Quixote in destroying by ridicule the current literary forms, besides a satire of the fantastic Academies then in fashion, the present work assails the genres of prose fiction then highly regarded in Spain, including the pastoral, historical, and the chivalrous. (See Ticknor, History of Spanish Literature, III, 86). It also appeared at Lisbon, 1621, and Madrid, 1720. The author's true name is unknown: Palau speculates that it may have been D. Francisco Loubayssin de Lamarca.

. . . * Palau 92139. Simón Díaz X, 1990: locating 4 copies, at the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid, the Hispanic Society, and in Paris at the Arsenal and the Bibliothèque Nationale. Ticknor Catalog p. 60: noting that the promised second part was never published. HSA p. 207. Salvá 1811. Not in António. NUC: CU. There is a Lisbon, 1621 edition at MH; also Madrid, 1720: MiU, s.v. Flegetonte, capitan, pseud. RLIN: CU-B.





6. FREIRE, João Nunes. Os Campos Elysios . . . . Porto: João Rodriguez, 1626. 4°, late-nineteenth–century full mottled polished tobacco sheep (three very small wormholes in spine), edges of covers milled, spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, crimson morocco label, gilt letter, marbled endpapers, edges rouged. Engraved arms of dedicatee on title-page, title within simple typographical border of interlaced ropes, woodcut initials. Contemporary inscription scored at an early date on verso of title-page. Occasional small, light, minor waterstains. A very good, near fine copy. Paper printed binder's ticket of António M.F. Possas, Porto. (6 ll.), 324 pp. (p. 1 marked "Fol. I"; p. 3 unnumbered; p. 195 numbered 295; p. 219 numbered 119). $2,500.00

FIRST EDITION of this pastoral novel in prose, interspersed with numerous and varied compositions in verse. The poems, in diverse formats and meter, are in mainly in Portuguese and Spanish with a few in Latin and Italian. A critical edition was published in Lisbon, 1995, edited by António Cirurgião.

The author was capelão–mor of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto. The book is dedicated to Luís Correia, Abbot of the Monastery of Lòrdello.

António Manuel Fernandes Possas, a binder who worked in Porto, had a shop on the Travessa de Cedofeita in 1877. He apprenticed to Jean Baptiste Simon. Among his clients were some distinguished bibliophiles, including the Counts of Azevedo and Samodães, Alameda Campos, Sousa Guimarães, and Camillo Castelo Branco. Later he moved into a second–hand book shop situated at the corner of the Rua da Almada and Rua dos Lavadouros, finishing his career as an employee of the Biblioteca Pública do Porto, where he did restoration work. See Lima Encadernadores portugueses pp. 161–2; 199–202.

. . . * Arouca II, 162, 202. Barbosa Machado II, 714. Innocêncio II, 429: os exemplares são hoje mui dificeis de achar, e valem no mercado preço subido." Pinto de Mattos (1970) p. 471: "É livro raro e estimado." Palha 1327: "trés rare et estimé." Garcia Peres p. 427 (w/o collation). Gubian 516. Monteverde 3776. Azevedo Samodães 2252 (describing a copy with only 2 of the 6 preliminary leaves, which nevertheless sold for the then elevated price of PTE 205$00); Sousa da Câmara 2076. Afonso Lucas 708. Not in Nepomuceno, Fernandes Thomaz, Ameal, Avila Perez. See Machado, Dicionário de literatura portuguesa, p. 203; for a more traditional view, cf. Saraiva and Lopes, História da literatura portuguesa (16th ed.), p. 416. Not in Melvyl.





7. MADARIAGA, Fr. Juan de. Vida del serafico Padre San Bruno, patriarca de la Cartuxa: con el origen y principio y costumbres desta sagrada religion. . . . Valencia: en casa de Pedro Patricio Mey, 1596. 4°, contemporary limp vellum (lacking the two buttons, but preserving the ties), yapped edges, vertical manuscript title on spine, covers with two manuscript ruled borders. Large woodcut of St. Bruno on title-page. Woodcut initials. Some light browning; occasional dampstains, for the most part small and minor; larger, but still light in the last few leaves. Overall a very good to fine copy, for the most part clean, and with ample margins. Early manuscript ownership statement on title-page: "Pertinet ad Conventum Madridi excalceatorum Augustini madrid. Fr. Andres dela Asuncion." Oval green printed paper ticket of Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho in upper outer corner of front pastedown endleaf. (10), 197, (1) ll. Leaf 196 is misnumbered 197, followed by the correctly numbered leaf 197. $ 3,800.00


FIRST and ONLY EDITION of the author's earliest work. St. Bruno, founder of the Carthusians, was born in Cologne about 1030. He was educated there, and afterwards at Reims and Tours, where he studied under Berengar. Ordained at Cologne, in 1057 he was recalled to Reims to head the cathedral school, oversee the schools of the diocese and in addition the be canon and diocesan chancellor. After falling out with a new archbishop, he was deprived of all offices and had to flee in 1076. On the deposition of the archbishop in 1080, Bruno was put forward as a candidate for the see, but Philip I of France successfully opposed his appointment. After this Bruno retired, with six companions, to a desolate mountainous area called Chartreuse, near Grenoble, and there founded the Carthusian order in 1084. Six years later Pope Urban II called him to Rome, offering the archbishopric of Reggio. Bruno refused, and withdrew to a desert in Calabria, where he established two other monasteries, and died in 1101. He wrote commentaries on the Psalms and the Pauline Epistles; some other works by namesakes have been attributed to him.

Provenance: Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho (1846–1910), born in the freguesia de Cabaços, concelho de Alvaiázere, arrived in Lisbon as a young man, was brought into the business of his uncle / father–in–law, and acquired a great fortune importing exotic lumber. He was a passionate book collector, frequenting auctions and bookshops from the 1860s until shortly prior to his death. Among the sales he attended and purchased at were those of Sir Gubian (1867), the Visconde de Juromenha (1887), José da Silva Mendes and Jorge César de Figanière (1889), the Condes de Linhares (1895), and José Maria Nepomuceno (1887).

. . . * Palau 146203. Catálogo collectivo, século XVI M54. BL Pre–1601 Spanish STC, p. 125. HSA p. 324. Not in Adams. Not in Salvá or Heredia, which list two other works by the author. CCPBE cites 9 copies (at least 2 incomplete, and one in private hands). Hollis cites an apparantly incomplete copy, listing only 9 preliminary pages. Not in Orbis. Not in Melvyl, which lists a single copy of another work by the author at UCB.

One of the Rarest and Most Important Books to Have Been Issued 
By Any of the Early Jewish Presses of Amsterdam

8. MANASSEH [BEN JOSEPH] BEN ISRAEL. Thesouro dos Dinim que o povo de Israel, he obrigado saber, e observar . . . [Parte primeira]–quarta. [Amsterdam]: Estampado em casa de Eliahu Aboab, 5405 [1645]. 8°, late ninteenth–century three quarter dark green morocco over marbled boards by Ferin (very slight rubbing at extremities), spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, gilt lettering and numbering, gilt fillets on leather of covers where it meets the marbled boards, top edge rouged, marbled endleaves, gilt circular supra–libris of Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho, Lisboa, on front cover, with his name on the outer circle and gilt monogram at center. Separate title-page to each part, each within identical full-page woodcut architectural border; woodcut initials and tailpieces. Hebrew type. Light browning throughout. A very good, almost fine copy. Small printed binder's ticket of Livraria Ferin in upper outer corner of verso of front free endleaf. From the library of the Condes de Linhares, purchased by Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho at the 15 December 1895 sale, lot 1100 (cutting from that catalogue bound in). Inscription confirming the purchase on recto of initial blank leaf, signed by Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho, stating that he paid 31.400 reis (an astronomical sum for a book in Portugal in 1895). (1 blank l., 15 ll.), 1–[88]; [89]–222; [223]–492; [493]-625 pp., (1 blank l.) [i.e. 629 pp., pp. 286, 287, 493–4 repeated]. P. 88 blank, pp. 91–112 misnumbered 92–113, a second p. 286 follows p. 287, which in turn in followed by a second p. 287; p. 492 is followed by the divisional title to part four (verso blank), which in turn is followed by p. 493. Blank leaf following p. 625.

. . . BOUND WITH:
MANASSEH [BEN JOSEPH] BEN ISRAEL. Thesouro dos Dinim ultima parte . . . Amsterdam: na Officina de Joseph be[n] Israel seu filho, 5407 [1647]. 8°, title within full-page woodcut architectural border (same as for parts 1-4), woodcut initials. Minor stains and browning. (7 ll., 1 blank l.), 210 pp., (4 ll.). $18,000.00

FIRST EDITIONS of all five parts of this comprehensive code of Jewish law for the Marrano community at Amsterdam. It deals with food, wine, beer, marriage, inheritance, the Sabbath, festivals and holy days such as Passover, Hanukah, Purim, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and much more. Part two is subtitled: Em que se comprende a forma da observançia de todos os preceitos morays da divina Ley . . . ; part three: Das festas e jejuns de todo o anno . . . ; part four: Das comidas licitas, e illicitas: com as bençoens, e circunstancias tocantes a esta materia; and part five: Na qual se contem todos os preceitos, ritos e ceremonias que tocão a huma perfeyta economica. In a witty preface, Manasseh dedicates the Thesouro to seven leaders of the Amsterdam community, drawing parallels between their virtues and the architectural title-page border. The five parts were collected in one volume and reprinted at Amsterdam, 1710.

Manasseh ben Israel (Lisbon 1604 or Madeira 1605–1657) was a renowned preacher to the Amsterdam Jewish community and was considered one of its foremost intellectuals. He was born to New Christian parents, the family soon fleeing Portugal to Amsterdam after his father's forced appearance as a penitent in a Lisbon auto-da-fé. A precocious student, Manasseh ben Israel wrote his first work at the age of 17, and became preacher to Neveh Shalom congregation the following year. In 1626 he founded the first Hebrew printing press at Amsterdam, publishing many works in Hebrew, Spanish and Portuguese over the next three decades. He was Spinoza's teacher, a friend of Hugo Grotius and of Rembrandt—who painted and etched his portrait—and during the 1650s he was a key figure in the partially successful negotiations for the return of Jews to England. Manasseh ben Israel's other published works include Esperança de Israel (1650), which describes the purported discovery in South America of the Ten Lost Tribes; Conciliador (1632-1651), an attempt to reconcile conflicting Biblical passages; Piedra gloriosa (1655), illustrated with Rembrandt etchings; and Vindiciae Judaeorum (1656), a defense of the Jews against English attacks.

. . . * Innocêncio VI, 211-3; XVI, 32-3. Palau 162811-2. Simón Díaz XIV, 4800: locating copies at the British Library (2), the Vatican Library, and the Bibliothèque Municipale, Rouen. Silva Rosa, Catalogus der Tentoonstelling in het Portugeesch Israëlitisch Seminarium "Ets Haïm" 42. Kayserling (rev. Yerushalmi) p. 91. Ladron de Guevara & Baronha 1554, 1555. Encyclopaedia Judaica XI, cols. 855-7. Linhares 1100 (the present copy, then in a contemporary sheep binding over wooden boards). See also António Ribeiro dos Santos in Memórias da literatura portuguesa, III, 342–4. NUC: OCH, NNUT, MH (part 5 only). Amsterdam, 1710 edition: DLC-P4, NN, MH, PBa, OU, ICN. RLIN: NNC [=NNUT]; no record for 1710 ed. Not in Orbis, where an author search resulted in 60 "hits".




9. PEÑA, Dr. Juan Antonio de la. Fama posthuma portuguesa.Tragicomedia del Ill[e Varon Martin Vas Villas Boas. Al Conde D. Diego de Sylva la dedica el D]or Joan Antonio de la Peña, Abogado en los Reales Consejos natural de Madrid. (Madrid?): n.pr., 1636. 4°, contemporary limp vellum (chewed at one corner [about 4 x 1.5 cm. gone] and on one compartment of spine [about 3 x .7 cm. affected]), vertical manuscript title on spine. Engraved title-page, engraved portrait of the author, large woodcut initial, typographical head– and tailpieces. Internally a clean, crisp, fine to very fine copy. Overall a very good, almost fine copy. Engraved title-page, engraved portrait, (10 ll.), 51, (1) pp. $3,500.00

FIRST and ONLY EDITION, very rare. The subject of the three-act play, Martim Vaz Vilas Boas, was born in Vila do Conde, 1577 and died in Lisbon 1635. He held various ecclesiastical posts, and gained fame for his writings, as well as for his virtue. The ten unnumbered preliminary leaves contain a dedication to Count D. Diego de Silva, followed by poems in various formats by a number of different authors, all in Spanish except for a Latin elogy. (For a complete list see Azevedo Samodães). Pages 5 and 6 contain a "Glosa al Camões" providing a translation into Spanish of eight octaves from the first Canto of the Lusiadas. The final unnumbered page contains a Latin epigram in honor of both Peña and Vaz Vilas Boas.

. . . * Barbosa Machado III, 439 (giving slightly inaccurate transcription of title). Palau 352989 (incomplete collation; citing only Gallardo). Gallardo 4179 (incomplete collation). HSA p. 413. Azevedo-Samodães 3716. Not in Salvá or Heredia. On Martim Vaz Vilas Boas, see also Grande enciclopédia, XXXVI, 17. Not in NUC. Not in RLIN. Not in OCLC.





10. POVÓAS, D. Manuel das. Vita Christi de Manoel das Povoas, Canonigo de la Santa Iglesia de Lisboa. Lisbon: En la officina de Pedro Crasbeeck, 1614. 4°, mid–eighteenth–century calf (minor binding defects), spine gilt with raised bands in five compartments, citron leather label (slightly chaffed), gilt letter, edges sprinkled red. Large woodcut vignette on title-page, woodcut initials and tailpieces. Running heads of two leaves almost touched, small minor stain and slight soiling to title-page. Overall a very good, almost fine copy. (2), 253 ll. $2,200.00

FIRST and ONLY EDITION. This epic poem in Spanish on the life of Christ, from conception to being handed over by Judas, was praised by Lope de Vega:

"Y con sus rimas triples á Poboas
Que honró la lengua castellana tanto"

The work also won the applause of Manuel Faria y Sousa. On leaves 175 verso and 176 recto the author treats the battle of Lepanto. He planned to continue the poem, but it appears that this object was never achieved.

D. Manuel das Povóas was a native of Lisbon, born c. 1564. He was a canon of the Lisbon Cathedral, and died in that city in 1625.

The Salvá catalogue says that this work has three preliminary leaves; Palau, who cites no other copy, follows Salvá in calling for three preliminary leaves. However, all copies actually located, i.e. the Houghton Library / Palha copy, the Jerez, Hispanic Society of America copy, and the three copies in the Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon have the same collation as our copy, with two preliminary leaves. Moreover, all other bibliographies and catalogues which give collations, i.e. Innocêncio, Pinto de Matos, Garcia Peres, Palha and Sucena, agree that there are but two preliminary leaves. One can speculate that either Salvá mistakenly cited three leaves when really intending to record three printed pages, or that the Salvá copy contained a license leaf from Castile or Aragon not present in any other known copy, and not required for the book to be complete.

. . . * Barbosa Machado III, 346–7 (with publication date of 1613). Innocencio VI, 88–9 (giving the same collation as our copy). Pinto de Matos (1970) pp. 514–5 (giving same collation as our copy). Garcia Peres p. 472 (giving incorrect collation of ii, 235 ll., the 235 probably being a typographical error for 253, the correct number of leaves). Nicolau Antonio I, 270. Palau 234406 (gives an additional preliminary leaf, after the Salvá–Heredia copy—the only copy cited). Salvá 889. Heredia 2085. HSA p. 437 (the Jerez copy; this copy was examined at the HSA; the collation agrees with our copy). Jerez p. 82. Palha 833 (with [2], 253 ll., the same as our copy). Sucena 920 (collation same as our copy). Not in any other of the dozen or so most important Portuguese auction catalogues since the Sir Gubian sale in 1867. Not in Coimbra Reservados. Not in Gallardo. Not in Ticknor Catalog. Not in Orbis, Melvyl, LC online catalogue, Ariadna, CCPBE, or BLPC. Porbase cites 3 copies in the BN, Lisboa [all examined personally, all with the same collation as our copy, all in condition inferior to our copy], but none in any other Portuguese libraries. Hollis cites a copy at the Houghton Library (presumably the Palha copy). Not located in WorldCat.

Complete Run of One of the Most Important
Portuguese Modernist Literary Reviews
One of the Most Significant Works of
Portuguese Modernism

11. Presença. First series: 54 numbers; second series: 2 numbers. Coimbra: Presença, 10 March 1927–February 1940. Inevitable slight browning to some leaves, but overall this set is as good or better than in any of the other copies we have seen; there is no conservation problem (at least not for the next few hundred years). Overall a very good copy. $25,000.00

FIRST EDITION, a complete run, of one of the most important works of Portuguese Modernism. Surely this is one of the most significant caches of published material by and about Fernando Pessoa. Presença is probably the most important and influential Portuguese literary review of the twentieth century.

António Botto commented, "A Presença oferece-nos como que uma vasta e estranha síntese literária . . . resultante dos destroços do simbolismo aristocrático Coimbrão, do saudosismo portuense, do paulismo e futurismo lisboetas, além de tudo o que respirasse liberdade, inclusive, ou sobretudo, a sexual" (quoted in Pires, p. 245).

Successor to the modernist journal Orpheu, it too published works by the leading figures in Portuguese literature, including Mário Sá-Carneiro, Fernando Pessoa, José Régio, Casais Monteiro, João Gaspar Simões, António de Sousa, Saul Dias, Branquinho da Fonseca, Almada Negreiros, Raul Leal, Alberto de Serpa, Irene Lisboa, José Régio and Miguel Torga. It was also responsible for introducing such foreign writers as Gide and Proust to Portuguese readers and for introducing the criticism of cinema as an art form; in addition, it emphasized contemporary music and the art of Cubists, Futurists, Primitivists and Expressionists. Graphic contributors included Almada Negreiros, Júlio, Mário Elói, Dórdio Gomes, João Carlos, Sara Afonso, Arlindo Vicente, Paulo, Ventura Porfírio and Bernardo Marques.

Presença was directed by José Régio, João Gaspar Simões and Branquinho da Fonseca; Casais Monteiro later took the place of Branquinho da Fonseca.

. . . * Daniel Pires, Dicionário da imprensa periodica literaria portuguesa do século XX (1900–1940) pp. 289-94. See also Pires, Dicionário das revistas literárias do séc. XX, pp. 244-8. Saraiva & Lopes, História da literatura portuguesa [1976] pp. 1090-2, and Grande enciclopédia XXIII, 180-1. Serpa 958. Almeida Marques 1725. Clara Rocha, Revistas literárias do século XX em Portugal, pp. 382–437.





12. QUEVEDO [E CASTEL–BRANCO], Vasco Mausinho de. Triumpho del monarcha Philippo Tercero en la felicissima entrada de Lisboa. . . . Lisbon: Jorge Rodrigues, 1619. Small 4°, nineteenth–century purple quarter calf, gilt letters (spined browned). Portuguese royal arms on title-page, woodcut initials, woodcut floral vignette on B4 recto, E1 verso, and verso of final leaf. An unwashed copy, but with waterstains, mostly small and light at lower outer corner; however, in 25 leaves a bit darker, apparently due to some mud in the water, mostly in blank margins but affecting some text, though not affecting legibility; overall a very good copy. (4), 66 leaves. [ ]4, A–H8, I2. $1,200.00

FIRST and ONLY EDITION. Poem in six cantos of Octava rima on the subject of the entry of King Philip III of Spain [Philip II of Portugal] into Lisbon in 1619. The Hapsburg king was genuinely popular in Portugal at this time. In a note to his translation of Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature, Pacual de Gayangos described this work as "obra de bastante ingenio, escrita en octavas fáciles y armoniosas . . . ."

A native of Setubal, the author was a lawyer who had studied both civil and canon law with distinction at Coimbra University. Mausinho is sometimes catalogued as Mousinho, Quevedo, as Quebedo, and Castel–Branco as Castelo–Branco, Castelbranco or Castelobranco.

. . . * Innocêncio VII, 410. Barbosa Machado III, 777. Palau 183708–9 (citing a copy with the impossible date of 1610; then citing a note which says the book was printed in 1619, with doubts; no collation). Nicolau Antonio Nova II, 322. Alenda y Mira 707. Garcia Peres pp. 474–5. Simón Díaz XV, nº 4074 (w/o collation or location). HSA p. 374. Jerez p. 66 (the HSA copy). Palha 824. Salvá 782. Heredia 2201. Ticknor, História de la literatura española (1854) Gayangos, trans. & ed., III, 534. Not in Goldsmith.




13. ROLIM DE MOURA, Francisco [Childe]. Dos novissimos . . . . Quatro cantos. Com os argumentos de hum amigo em cada Canto. Dirigidos a este Reyno. Lisbon: Pedro Craesbeeck, Impressor del Rey, 1623. Small 4°, recent full calf, spine gilt, crimson labels, simple gilt border on covers, edges tinted green. Woodcut Portuguese arms on title-page, woodcut tailpiece on leaf G3 verso. A fine copy. Small blindstamp of J.G. Mazziotti Salema Garção of Porto, noted mid–twentieth-century collector and wolfram magnate, in blank margin of title-page. (4), 90 leaves. [ ]4, A–K8, L10, leaf G3 incorrectly numbered 45. $6,000.00

FIRST EDITION of this very rare epic poem in ottava rima on the theme of Paradise Lost and Regained. The work is divided into four cantos, treating death, judgment, hell, and paradise. This was the only poem published by the poet during his lifetime. Bell praises it for its readability and intense, vigorous style. Its composition can be dated not later than 1616, the date of the "Aprovaçam." The poem was reintroduced to nineteenth–century audiences through publication of Rolim de Moura's Obras (Lisbon, 1853).

Dom Francisco Childe Rolim de Moura (1572-1640), 14th Senhor of the towns of Azambuja and Montargil, was in all probability born in Lisbon. He was the son of Dom Felipe de Moura (according to Borba de Moraes) or Dom António Rolim de Moura (according to Ana Hatherly) and Dona Genebra Cavalcanti of Pernambuco (according to Borba) or Dona Guiomar da Silveira (according to Hatherly). It is believed by some that he was born in Olinda. Although esteemed by his contemporaries, few of his poems were published or are still extant.
. . . * Innocêncio III, 48-9; IX, 369. Barbosa Machado II, 244-5. Borba de Moraes (1983) II, 600 (inexplicably stating that two editions appeared in the same year, but without explaining what distinguishes one from the other—we have not been able to find any evidence to support this assertion): "an extremely rare book." Blake III, 108-110: citing evidence—disputed by many authorities—that Rolim de Moura was born in Brazil and served as an officer there. Pinto de Mattos p. 548: "muito rara." HSA p. 479. Palha 838: "très rare." Salvá 920. Azevedo-Samodães 2889. Forjaz de Sampaio, História da literatura portuguesa ilustrada III, 127, 150: reproducing the title-page. Bell, Portuguese Literature p. 257. See also Hatherly in Biblos, III, 975–6. Not in Ticknor Catalogue. Not in Welsh or Greenlee, which list the Lisbon, 1853 edition. Not in Goldsmith. NUC: MH. Not in RLIN.

One of the Greatest Poets in Portuguese and Spanish—
the Second (Preferred) Edition

14. SÁ DE MIRANDA, Francisco de. As Obras . . . agora de nouo impressas com a Relação de sua calidade, e vida. (Lisbon): Vicente Alvarez for Domingos Fernandez, 1614. 4°, mid–eighteenth–century mottled calf (slight wear at extremities), spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, crimson morocco label, gilt letter, edges rouged, marbled endleaves. Light stains and cropped manuscript ink inscription on title-page; minor marginal worming on H6-S5 (at most 1 cm. long, usually a pinpoint, and never touching the text). An attractive copy. Mid–eighteenth–century engraved heraldic bookplate of D. Antonio Campuzano, Conde de Mansilla, on blank verso of title-page. Rectangular printed paper label pasted on to upper outer corner of front pastedown endleaf reading "Rey N.S. // II...... F. 5." Clipping from old bookseller's catalogue pasted on to upper outer corner of verso of front free endleaf. (12), 160 ll. $10,000.00

Second edition of the collected works of Sá de Miranda, preferred by Seabra, Innocêncio, and Ticknor to the first edition of Lisbon, 1595. Both editions are rare. The second was corrected by reference to an autograph manuscript of Sá de Miranda's that was in the hands of his relatives (see the preface by Domingos Fernandes, preliminary leaf 3r). This edition includes the earliest biography of the author and seventeen works not printed in the first edition, among them canções, cantigas, vilancetes, and redondilhas soltas (see final preliminary leaf).

Sá de Miranda is described by Bell as "the champion of humanism in Portugal" and "the most famous of all the Portuguese poets with the exception of Camões and Gil Vicente" (Portuguese Literature, p. 139). Ticknor points out that he wrote in both Castilian and Portuguese, so that "while, on all accounts he is placed among the four or five principal poets in his own country, he occupies a position of enviable distinction among those of the prouder nation that soon became, for a time, its master" (History of Spanish Literature III, 11-12). Sá de Miranda was the first Portuguese to write in Italian hendecasyllabics rather than the octosyllabic redondilhas, and "none, perhaps, since his time has appeared in them with more grace and power" (Ticknor II, 11). He did not find it an easy task, however: Bell describes him "hammering his lines, altering, erasing, compressing in a divine discontent. He had a lofty conception of the poet's art—to express the noblest sentiment in the best and fewest words . . ." (Bell p. 143).

A native of Coimbra, Sá de Miranda (ca. 1485-1558) studied at the University of Lisbon and soon earned a reputation as a scholar and lawyer. In 1521 he departed on a five-year visit to Italy, where he met many Italian humanists and became thoroughly familiar with Italian literature. Upon his return he took up residence at the court of D. João III, but retired in 1532 to the Quinta da Tapada on the Neiva in Minho, where he produced much of his best work.
. . . * Innocêncio III, 53; IX, 371. Palau 283214. Gallardo 3726. Pina Martins, Sá de Miranda e a cultura do Renascimento 20/7. Pinto de Mattos (1970) p. 554. Garcia Peres pp. 501-8. Bell, Portuguese Literature pp. 139-45. Barbosa Machado II, 251-5. Antonio I, 471: mentions an edition of 1605, probably a ghost. HSA p. 486 (= Nepomuceno 1557). Ticknor Catalog p. 315. Coimbra, Catálogo dos reservados 1613. Palha 797. Greenlee II, 538. Salvá 925: "La edicion de 1614 es la más correcta." Heredia 2174. Azevedo–Samodães 2933: with reproduction of title-page. The bookplate is that illustrated in Vindel, Ensayo de un catálogo de ex–libris ibero–americanos 536; cf. 535. NUC: DLC, CU, NN, WU.




15. SERRÃO, Jeronimo Freire. Discurso politico da excellencia, aborrecimento, perseguição, & zel da verdade. Em que tambem se trata das causas, & razões porque Deos castigou este Reino, & da misericordiosa lebrançam que delle tevem ba justa restituição del Rey nosso Senhor D. Ioham o IV, o Desejado, Libertador da Patria, Felice, Pio, sempre Augusto Monarcha da Lusitania. Dedicado ao Doctor Joham Pinto Ribeiro, fidalgo de sua casa, do seu Conselho, seu Desembargador do Paço, Guardamor do Archivo real da Torre do Tombo, & meritissimo cultor das boas artes. Lisbon: Na Officina de Lourenço de Anveres, 1647. 4°, late-nineteenth–century navy blue quarter morocco over marbled boards, spine divided into compartments with fillets in gilt and blind, gilt lettering and numbering, salmon endleaves, edges rouged. Woodcut initials. Woodcut tailpiece on p. 324. Woodcut headpiece on p. 325. Very occasional light soiling and foxing. On the whole an amply margined, very good to fine copy. A few contemporary ink corrections in text. Oval green printed paper ticket of Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho in upper outer corner of front pastedown endleaf. (8 ll.), 641 [i.e. 639] pp. Pagination skips from 624 to 627, but text follows, and collation by signatures is correct. $1,900.00

FIRST (and only?) EDITION of a most interesting example of Portuguese political thought during the epoch of the Restauração. In addition to political and judicial theory, the book provides some historical background to the Restauração, including events to which the author appears to have been an eyewitness, such as the entry of D. João, the Duke of Bragança into Évora in 1640, and his acclamation as king there. The dedicatee, João Pinto Ribeiro, a political theorist in his own right, was one of the prime movers in the 1640 revolt that raised the Duke of Bragança to the throne as D. João IV.

After the main body of text, on pp. 623–31 appears an ode to D. João IV by the author. On pp. 633–6 are four sonnets addressed to D. Theodosio, Duque de Bragança, father of the future D. João IV, on the occasion of the visit to Lisbon in 1619 of D. Felipe III of Spain (II of Portugal). Perhaps this evocation of the warm reception then given by the Portuguese nobility to the Spanish monarch is the reason the book is today encountered in so few copies. On p. 637 is a sonnet "A milagrosa restauração deste reino".

The author had a degree in civil law from Coimbra University, and served as Juiz de fóra in the villa of Monte–mór–o–novo. He was a native of Évora, where he died in 1651.

Provenance: Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho (1846–1910), born in the freguesia de Cabaços, concelho de Alvaiázere, arrived in Lisbon as a young man, was brought into the business of his uncle / father–in–law, and acquired a great fortune importing exotic lumber. He was a passionate book collector, frequenting auctions and bookshops from the 1860s until shortly prior to his death. Among the sales he attended and purchased at were those of Sir Gubian (1867), the Visconde de Juromenha (1887), José da Silva Mendes and Jorge César de Figanière (1889), the Condes de Linhares (1895), and José Maria Nepomuceno (1887).

. . . * Barbosa Machado II, 499. Innocêncio III, 265–6. Pinto de Mattos (1970) p. 314: "É livro estimado e pouco vulgar". Gubian 347. Not in Goldsmith. Not in HSA. Not in Palha. Porbase cites two copies in the Biblioteca Nacional, Lisboa, and a copy which had belonged to the Visconde de Trindade at the Biblioteca Geral, Universidade de Coimbra. Not in Hollis. Not in Orbis. Not loctated in KVK (searched 51 catalogues, including the BL). Not located in WorldCat. KVK cites a copy in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.





16. SILVA, Yeosuah da. Discursos predycaveys que o Docto Haham Yeosuah da Sylva Pregou no K.K. Sahar A Samaym em Londres. He o Assumpto delle, tratar sobre os Treze Articulos, de nossa Sancta Ley. Amsterdam: Em Casa de Yahacob de Cordova, 5448 [i.e. 1688]. Large 4° (21 x 16.5 cm.), late-ninteenth–century three quarter dark green morocco over marbled boards by Ferin (spine faded, slight rubbing at extremities), spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, gilt lettering and numbering, gilt fillets on leather of covers where it meets the marbled boards, top edge rouged, marbled endleaves, gilt circular supra–libris of Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho, Lisboa, on front cover, with his name on the outer circle and gilt monogram at center. Large woodcut vignette on title-page; numerous woodcut initials and tailpieces. Hebrew type. Light browning, occasional minor stains. A complete copy with ample margins. Overall in very good condition. Old signature of Samuel Bendalack in upper blank margin of title-page. From the library of the Condes de Linhares, with inscription in lower blank margin of title-page "Da Livraria Conde de Li // nhares" (purchased by Bernardino Ribeiro de Carvalho at the 15 December 1895 sale, lot 876; cutting from that catalogue pasted on to recto of third and final front free endleaf). Small printed binder's ticket of Livraria Ferin in upper outer corner of verso of front free endleaf. (7 ll., 1 blank l.), 497, (1) pp. Leaf CCC4 cancelled; the quire has only three leaves, but pagination and text follow. $8,000.00

FIRST EDITION. The main text of this work contains thirteen articles, or discourses. The subjects are (1) the existence of the creator, (2) the unity of God, (3) the non–corporality of God, (4) on the eternal nature of the creator, (only God is to be worshipped, as opposed to angels and other heavenly beings), (6), on prophecy, (7) the prophesy of Moses, (8) God gave his law to his people, (9) the law of Moses is eternal, and can never be changed for another, (10) God knows all humans, (11) the good and the just will be rewarded, while the impious and wicked will be castigated, (12) when the messiah comes, the people of Israel will be returned to their original state; and (13) at the resurrection of the dead, there will be a final judgment. At the end of the discourses is a sermon preached at the author's funeral by Yshac Aboab; on the final page is the author's epitaph. The preliminary leaves include three pages of dedication by the author's widow, Sara, a single page note by Yshak Aboab, and a three page introduction by Selomoh de Oliveira.

The author was a disciple of Morteira and of Yshac Aboab, a member of the Academy "Arbol de las Vidas" of Amsterdam, and Haham of the Portuguese Jewish community of London, where he died in 1679.

. . . * Kayserling (rev. Yerushalmi) p. 124 (mentioning only 185 pp.). Innocêncio III, 256 (no collation; had never seen a copy). Linhares 876 (the present copy, then in a contemporary sheep binding over wooden boards). See also António Ribeiro dos Santos in Memórias da literatura portuguesa, III, 284–5 (appears never to have seen a copy). Hollis lists a microfiche copy only. Not located in Orbis. Not located in Catnyp. Not located in Melvyl. COPAC locates only two actual copies, at the British Library and the Roth Collection, Leeds as well as two microfilm and microfiche copies. A search in KVK located the same two hard copies and the same two reproductions as listed in COPAC.

One of the Greatest and Most Tragic Stories of Love and Revenge

17. SUAREZ DE ALARCON, Juan [or João Soares de Alarcão]. La Iffanta Coronada, por El Rey Don Pedro, Doña Ines de Castro. En octava rima . . . . Lisbon: Pedro Crasbeeck, 1606. 4°, contemporary vellum (a bit soiled and otherwise worn, text block becoming loose), vertical manuscript title on spine. Title-page with typographical border and woodcut arms, woodcut arms of D. Francisco Mascarenhas, Conde de Santa Cruz (to whom the work is dedicated) on recto of third preliminary leaf, woodcut initial, typographical headpieces. Missing triangular piece of upper outer corner of title-page (about 7 x 5 x 5 cm.), affecting part of border. Title-page also with some minor soiling, a tear of 5 cm. at inner margin and a few small holes. Light waterstains. Overall a good copy of a very rare book. (8), 87 [i.e. 83; foliation skips 61-64, see below], (1 errata) ll. $4,000.00

FIRST and ONLY EDITION of this very rare poem in octaves telling the tragic love story that repeatedly occurs in Portuguese literature. The copy described in NUC has the same folio numbers omitted as this copy. In our copy, the text is complete (moving from the end of stanza 9 to the beginning of stanza 10 in the fifth Canto), as are the quires (quires H and I both of eight leaves, with H8 foliated 60 and I1 foliated 65).

For a description of the content it would be difficult to improve upon the entry in Maggs, One Hundred Spanish Books:

"The theme is the tragic romance of Inez de Castro, whose story has inspired more than one dramatist since it was enacted with grim reality in the fourteenth century. The beautiful lady-in-waiting, Inez, had accompanied the Infanta Constança to Portugal on the occasion of the betrothal of the latter to Dom Pedro, the future King. As history has shown, Pedro gave his hand to the Princess and his heart to her lady; until their mutual passion was openly acknowledged between them, and they became two of the world's great lovers. With the death of the Infanta, and the morganatic marriage of Pedro and Inez, began a series of personal and political intrigues at the court of the Prince's father, Dom Affonso IV. The Portuguese favourites, fearing Spain's ascendancy through the influence of Inez, or their own dismissal in favour of Inez' Spanish friends, sought to influence the King against her, even accusing her of attempting to procure the succession of her eldest son to the throne of Portugal, instead of that of the legitimate heir, Pedro's son by the Infanta Constança. The intrigues culminated in Inez' dramatic assassination, for which the King was partly responsible; and in the passionate avowal, on the part of the grief-stricken Pedro, that he would make amends at the earliest opportunity. There followed one of the most curious events in history: immediately after his accession, Pedro not only severely punished all who had taken part in the persecution of Inez, but insisted upon the Church's recognition of his marriage with her. She was his Queen; and, as such, was to be accorded dignified burial with royal pomp. Accordingly, her remains were exhumed and conveyed to the royal vault at Alcobaça. The route, which covered a number of miles, was lined with troops who presented arms as the cortege wended its way between the ranks; and, on arrival, at the burial-place, the most remarkable and gruesome coronation ceremony took place with due solemnity: with his own hands Pedro placed upon Inez de Castro's head, the queenly crown which circumstances had denied her in her life-time."

Juan Suárez de Alarcón, or João Soares de Alarcão, was born in 1580 near Lisbon (at Torres Vedras, according to Barbosa Machado, or at Cintra, according to Innocêncio). He studied literature, history and poetry from an early age, and served as seventh Alcaide-môr of Torres Vedras. Aside from this work, he also published Archimusa de varias rimas y efectos, Madrid 1611, in which the poems were mostly in Portuguese despite the Castilian title. The biography given in the Maggs catalogue, where the author is said to have been alive at the time of the Restauração, is incorrect: both Barbosa Machado and Innocêncio state that Suárez de Alarcón died in 1618, at the age of 38.

. . . * Tipografia portuguesa do Séc. XVII: a colecção da Biblioteca Nacional, I, 49, 60. Barbosa Machado II, 762. Innocêncio IV, 40; X, 356: notes that he had only seen one copy of the work, "assás maltractado." Palau 323800: citing only the Maggs copy. Gallardo 3979. Pinto de Mattos (1970) p. 582. Maggs, One Hundred Spanish Books 93. Garcia Peres p. 533. HSA p. 522. Palha 844. Azambuja 2451. Monteverde 1029. Azevedo-Samodães 3224. Avila Perez 7335. Biblioteca Nacional, Lisboa, Inés de Castro, 1355–2005: exposiçao bibliográfica 53. Not in Salvá or Heredia. NUC: MiU, MH. RLIN adds adds Library of Congress. OCLC adds University of Wisconsin, Madison. Not located in Orbis. No copy cited in Catálogo Colectivo del Património Bibliográfico Español. Porbase cites only a single hard copy, formerly belonging to the Visconde de Trindade, in the Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra. There is also a microfilm copy in the BN, Lisboa.

History of a Cuban Foundling Home, in an
Elaborate Contemporary Binding

18. [ZENEA Y LUZ, Evaristo]. Historia de la Real Casa de Maternidad de esta ciudad . . . Havana: Oficina de D. José Severino Bolona, 1838. 4°, contemporary tree pasta española, red calf inlay in center of each cover bearing small stamp with royal Spanish arms and a floral border, both gilt; roll-tooled border, gilt, with palmettes, arrows and cornucopiae; floral stamp at corners. Spine with gilt rolls and stamps and two dark blue leather labels, gilt letter. Edges of boards milled gilt. All text block edges gilt. Very minor wear at extremities, and one corner bumped. Woodcut portrait on frontispiece, woodcut vignettes within text, and engraved vignette on title-page. Nicely printed, on high–quality paper. A clean, bright, handsome, fine to very fine copy. Frontispiece, 417 pp., (3 ll.), 3 folding tables paginated with the text, and extra leaf following the main text, at p. 70, with notes on the Real Casa. $4,000.00

FIRST EDITION. The Real Casa de Maternidad, founded in Havana in 1830, was successor to the defunct foundling home Casa Cuna (established 1711). The first part of this work deals with the history of the Casa Cuna and the administration and income sources of the Real Casa. Among the plethora of supporting documents (pp. 71-417) are the Real Cedula approving the establishment of the Real Casa de Maternidad and its Regulamento.

The Regulamento included provision for housing unmarried women during the final two months of their pregnancies; stipulated that no questions would be asked of those wishing to leave children at the Real Casa; and laid out rules for keeping the children identified. A group of documents (pp. 261-80) suggests that there was a heated debate over whether to admit non-Caucasian children. There is even a description of the pictures and other decorations in the Real Casa (pp. 246-8). The three folding tables give sample pages for records of daily and monthly expenses.

. . . * Palau 380196: calling for only 324 pp., 3 tables and a portrait. Sabin 106303: calling for only 2 tables. Trelles II, 186: calling for only 417, (6) pp., citing Valdés Domingues. NUC: NN, MH, CtY.