RESTRICTED. Available with curator approval. Extended retrieval and delivery time required. For information on use of Digital Library materials, please see Library Rights and Permissions: https://www.huntington.org/library-rights-permissions
Description
ff. 9. [Bartolomeu Velho]. [Portolan atlas]. Latin. Contains 16 maps, etc.: f. 1, Tables of solar declinations; f. 1v, Tables of solar declinations and cosmographical data, as described in PMC 2:108-09 and reproduced on pl. 236; f. 2, Western coast of United States and Mexico; f. 2v, South America (southern portion); f. 3, Central America and northwest coast of South America; f. 3v, West Indies and surrounding coasts; f. 4, North Atlantic Ocean, Newfoundland, Ireland; f. 4v, Northern South America, portion of West Indies, Newfoundland; f. 5, Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea; f. 5v, Spain and Portugal, west coast of Africa; f. 6, Western and central Europe (including Iceland and Scandinavia) and northwestern Africa; f. 6v, Western Africa and Gulf of Guinea; f. 7, India, Arabia, and portion of eastern Africa; f. 7v, Southeast coast of Africa and islands of Indian Ocean; f. 8, Southwest coast of Africa and southern Atlantic Ocean; f. 8v, Brazil and southern Atlantic Ocean; f. 9, Indochina and East Indies; f. 9v, Japan and portion of East Indies. Title from printed catalog. Support: Parchment. Layout: Bifolia arranged sequentially. Double banded purple border. Other Decoration: Black and red ink for nomenclature in a minuscule script with area names in square capitals; land masses outlined in color, islands painted blue, green, red, or gold; 1 to 5 compass roses on each chart (except 5v, which has none); usual 32 rhumb line network in black, red, and green ink for the principal directions; numbered latitude scale on each chart, but no longitude; unnumbered scale of distance in small cartouche on each chart (except on 5v and 6, where French words and numbers appear to have been added later); coats of arms identifying some areas, but no illustrations except for vignettes of 3 cities. Made in Portugal in the second half of the 16th century, with additions on ff. 2, 5v and 6 probably made later in France. Assigned Date: s. XVI2. Input into Digital Scriptorium by: C. W. Dutschke, 1/14/2012. Cataloged from existing description: C. W. Dutschke with the assistance of R. H. Rouse et al., Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library (San Marino, 1989). Unbound: encased in nineteenth-century English blind tooled red morocco cover; the bifolia, now loose but which appear at one time to have been bound, are fastened to case by a guard along fold. HM 44. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
The early endpapers affixed to modern parchment front and back bear oval ownership stamp with laurel wreath surrounding initials AY (?); owned by Henry Stevens (1791-1867); sale of his library, 1868, to Henry Huth (1815-78); his ex libris on front pastedown and pencilled notation "Portolano (6) p. 1171 " indicating The Huth Library (1880) pt. 4, 1171.
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
