Books and Manuscripts

London: Printed for John Martyn, 1669. First edition in English. 12mo. (viii), 105, (1) pp. Translated out of Portuguese and into English by Sir Peter Wyche. Full contemporary calf, stamped in gilt, rebacked, extremities and boards rubbed and worn; all edges trimmed; front and rear hinges reinforced with tape; scattered marginalia; annotated as Eugene Field's copy, and signed by Field in pencil on front free endpaper, but this title is not listed in Field's 1923 Anderson Galleries catalogue of his library; book-plate of Edward and Ruby Thalmann on front paste-down; library shelving label on rear paste-down. ESTC R12438

A scarce first edition of Sir Peter Wyche's English translation of Jesuit missionary Jerónimo Lobo's (1593-1678) account of Ethiopia. Sections include descriptions on the Blue Nile, Lake Tana, and the Red Sea, as well as an account on Arab shipping, the palm tree, Christian ruler Prester John, and various native animals--real and mythological--such as the "famous Unicorne." Lobo traveled throughout Ethiopia between 1625-1633 with a party of Jesuit priests in an attempt to convert the Christian community to Roman Catholicism. Although he and his fellow Jesuits were initially received favorably by Emperor Susenyos I (ca. 1571/75-1632), a Catholic convert, upon the latter's abdication they were expelled by Emperor Fasilides (1603-67) in 1633. Lobo's original Portuguese manuscript of this text remained unpublished for decades until he began corresponding with the Royal Society of London toward the end of his life. In 1668 Lobo gave Royal Fellow Sir Robert Southwell a series of manuscripts, including this work, for its translation and publication. This work was considered an important account of the region for European scholars, and over the next 40 years translations in German, French, Italian, and Dutch appeared. Interest in Lobo's writings was renewed in the late 18th-century upon Scottish writer James Bruce's accounts of his travels through North Africa.