Description:
8vo, ff. [viii], 395, [17], with engraved title and 7 engraved illustrations; woodcut initials; slight worming from quire Nn onwards (touching some letters and illustrations), some light damp staining and toning, small tear to f. 290; overall very good in contemporary vellum, paper label with title to spine (slightly chipped); slightly marked and cockled; armorial bookplate to front pastedown. Second edition, enlarged and revised (the first edition published earlier in 1614), a handsome copy. 'Un ouvrage aussi important que rare' (Leclerc). The first written account of the Capuchin mission to Maranhao, an island on the coast of Brazil, of which, Sabin notes, this is the earliest mention. In 1612 the mission, composed of the French Capuchins, Yves d'Evreux, Arsène de Paris, Ambroise d'Amiens, and Claude d'Abbeville, accompanied Daniel de la Rivardière's expedition to settle Maranhao. Relations between the French and the local Tupi indians were good and the… Read More