Fac-Simile of the “Dutch Vespucius” Being the Celebrated Letter of Americus Vespucius to Laurentius de Medicis. Describing his Third Voyage to America, in the Year 1501, for the King of Portugal. Translated from the Italian into Latin and form Latin into Dutch.

One of 25 copies only, 20pp., 6 woodcut text illustrations, text leaves unopened, light marginal toning, later endpapers, rebound in handsome red morocco, board thrice ruled in gilt, spine gilt, marbled endpapers, 8vo, Providence, 1874

A facsimile of the famous “Mondus Novus” letter by Amerigo Vespucci to his friend and former employer Lorenzo de’ Medici (1463-1503). It describes a voyage to the coasts of Brazil in which Vespucci referred to the newly found territories as a New World. Vespucci’s vivid style, focusing on scenes of sexual liberty and cannibalism, made it an immediate international best seller.

This facsimile of the letter is the incredibly scarce version published in Antwerp by Jan van Doesborgh. Van Doesborgh was principally known for publishing Romance stories, books on voyages and travel and curious books illustrated with rude woodcuts.

Like other versions of the letter of Vespucci, this Dutch version has no separate title page. The most striking thing about this version is the unique treatment of Vespucci’s letter by Van Doesborgh. He transformed it into a chapbook. The story is divided into chapters and is illustrated with woodcuts of mostly naked natives. The text omits Vespucci’s last name, and hints that “Alberic, the best pilot in the world”, may have been an inhabitant of the Low Countries serving the Portuguese King.

The only known copy of the Van Doesborgh letter is in the John Carter Brown Library. This facsimile is very scarce.

[https://jcblibrary.org/collection/van-der-nieuwer-werelt]