Lot 197: MARCO BOSCHINI (1613-1678)

MARCO BOSCHINI (1613-1678) L'Arcipelago. Con tutte le Isole, Scogli secche, e Bassi fondi. Venice: Francesco Nicolini, 1658. 4° (234 x 168mm). Title with decorative border Engraved frontispiece of the coat-of-arms of Alessandro Farnese, folding general map of the Archipelago, folding maps of Crete and Negroponte, and 46 full-page maps in the text, wood-engraved initials and tailpieces. (Lacking the half-title and the leaf of preface, but with blank N4, short tear to frontispiece neatly repaired on verso without loss, small marginal chip to title just into border, general folding map with very small holes and old paper repairs to verso at creasefolds, a couple of tiny tears to map of Crete without loss, corner of Tinos plate torn away just touching plate mark as in other copies.) Slightly later limp pasteboard binding (a couple of short splits to spine, light soiling). FIRST EDITION. This work describes most of the Greek islands, as well as Mount Athos, the maps of which are derived from Bartolomeo dalli Sonetti's Isolario (Venice, 1485). The map of Crete is based on that in Boschini's earlier work Il regno tutto di Candia (see previous lot; cf. E. Clutton, 'Some seventeenth century images of Crete', Imago Mundi, 34, 1982). Some bibliographies call for a first edition of 1654, but this cannot be traced in online library listings. Blackmer 172; Nordenskiöld I, 32; Shirley BL T.BOS-2a.