LEO AFRICANUS, Johannes (ca 1494-ca 1554?). De totius Africae descriptione. Antwerp: Johannes de Laet, 1556.

8vo (157 x 96 mm). Woodcut device on title-page. (Some mostly marginal dampstaining, some minor browning or spotting.) Contemporary mottled sheep, sprinkled edges (rebacked preserving original spine, some minor peeling); quarter morocco folding case. Provenance: 17th century inscription on title; John Ralph Willis (1938-2007), American Scholar (bookplate).

FIRST LATIN EDITION, first published in Italian in 1550, and used as a basis for the English translation of 1600. Joannes Leo Africanus, born al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, was a noble-born Moor from Granada who, after the Spanish conquest, was educated in Morocco, principally in geography. His work describes the geography of Africa, and was the chief authority on the subject until the end of the 18th century. He accompanied his uncle on a diplomatic mission to Timbuktu, and then continued in the diplomatic service, traveling to Egypt, Constantinople, Mecca and Persia. On his return, he was captured by pirates off Tunisia and taken to Rome as a slave for Pope Leo X; the pope recognized his abilities and freed him and gave him a pension to continue researching and writing. While at the Vatican, he was baptized, taking the name Leo.

LEO AFRICANUS, Johannes (ca 1494-ca 1554?). De totius Africae descriptione. Antwerp: Johannes de Laet, 1556.