CASTANHEDA (Fernào Lopes de). Le Premier Livre de l'histoire - Lot 29

CASTANHEDA (Fernào Lopes de). Le Premier Livre de l'histoire de l'Inde, contenant comment l'Inde a été découverte par le commandement du roy Emanuel & la guerre que les capitaines portu-galois ont menée contre Samorin, roy de Calecut Paris, de l'Imprimerie de Michel de Vascosan, 1553. In-4, 173 leaves, 18th-century fawn-colored basane, spine ribbed, green title page, gilt roulette at edges, red edges (corners and spines rubbed, epidermis on covers, small holes on nerves; gaps replaced at foot of title, in margin of next 2 f., fol.93 and 173; without last blank f.; light wetness at end of volume). Rare first edition in French of the first book of the monumental history of India, a major work by Portuguese historian and explorer F. Lopes de Catanheda (c. 1550 - 1559). This volume covers the years 1486 to 1505, and recounts the discoveries, the establishment of the Portuguese colonies and their first developments. The translation is by philologist Nicolas de Grouchy (1510-1572). The original edition was printed in Coïmbra in 1551 (seven other volumes were published during the author's lifetime (1552-1554) and one two years after his death (1561).