AA, Pieter van der.
De aanmerkenswaardigste en alomberoemde zee- en landreizen der Portugeezen, Spanjaarden, Engelsen en allerhande natiën: zoo van Fransen, Italiaanen, Deenen, Hoogh- en Nederduitsen, Als van veele andere volkeren. Voornaamenlyk ondernomen tot ontdekking van de Oost- en West-Indiën, mitsgaders andere verafgelegene gewesten des aardryks.
The Hague and Leiden, widow of Engelbrecht Boucquet and sons, Jan van der Deyster, and Boudewijn and Pieter van der Aa, 1727. 8 volumes. Folio. With a general title-page printed in red and black, 8 engraved allegorical frontispieces, 4 engraved dedications, 116 engraved maps, 7 full-page engraved plates, and 502 engravings in the text. Further with 8 title-pages with a vignette, and another 128 separate divisional title-pages with a vignette. Contemporary elaborately gold-tooled marbled calf, with a red morocco title-label lettered in gold on each of the spines.
€ 75,000
Rare complete set of the folio-edition of Van der Aa's voluminous collection of important voyages to the East and West Indies and other countries, undertaken by all European countries, other than the Dutch. The folio-edition is quite rare, as probably only 332 copies of it were printed. It includes the travel accounts of all of the most important travellers from Western Europe, often translated into Dutch for the first time. The numerous beautiful plates and maps were new and especially designed for the work.
Included are the travel accounts of voyages undertaken by Acosta, Balbi, Cavendish, Chester, Columbus, Cortes, Coutinho, Da Cunha, Drake, Evesko, Frobisher, Da Gama, Garcia, Jenkinson, Harcourt, Herberer, Magallanes, Raleigh, Saris, De Soto, and many others. It was edited and co-published by Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733), known for his ambitious projects. He already started publishing the translated voyages both in small (8vo) and large instalments (folio or 1mo) in 1706, and a year later he published a 28-volume set of the 8vo editions, with the travel accounts arranged chronologically. When this was ready, he proceeded with the folio-edition. For this, he arranged the accounts by country of origin of the travellers, and divided the work into four large divisions of two volumes each. All voyages have their own separate title, with their own index at the end. The present issue is a reissue of these four collections with their own independent title-pages and frontispieces, but now includes a new general title-page and list of subscribers. It also includes the original volume labels, which were often removed.
The work is falsely attributed on the title-page to Johan Lodewijk Gottfried, by Van der Aa, most likely because he made good money publishing Gottfried's "Chronicle" in 1702. In reality, however, Gottfried was not involved in the project.
The first and last few leaves of two of the volumes are slightly frayed at the edges, the work is occasionally slightly browned, with minor water stains at the end of 2 volumes. Otherwise in very good condition. Cordier, Japonica, p. 32 (note); Cordier, Sinica, 1942f; Muller, America, 1889; Sabin 3 (note); Tiele 10; cf. Hoftijzer, P.G., Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733), Leids drukker en boekverkoper (1999).
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