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Book of the Week — A Journey Over Land: from the Gulf of Honduras to the Great South-Sea…

23 Monday Jul 2018

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1735, animals, berries, Central America, chocolate, corn, eggs, Englishman, fowl, gold, Honduras, honey, India, insects, Isthumus of Panama, Jamaica, John Cockburn, lizards, London, map, Mayans, milk, Nicholas Withington, Panama, Pedor Poleas, pirates, plantains, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador, Spaniards, tobacco, travel narrative, vegetation


There needs no Apology in Behalf of Books of this Nature; they have, at all times, been favourably received, and never rejected, but upon plain and undeniable Conviction of Insincerity. They agreeably amuse, and usefully instruct; and are consequently relished by Readers of every sort. They are pleasing to those, who, at every turn, would be surprised with extraordinary Events, unexpected Accidents, and miraculous Deliverances; and acceptable to those, who, moving in a loftier Sphere, are desirous of converting all they know to public Use; and these, regardless of what the former most admire, are particularly sollicitous after Descriptions and Accounts of Persons, Places and things. — from the preface, A Journey Over Land

A Journey Over Land: From the Gulf of Honduras to the Great South-Sea…
John Cockburn
London: Printed for C. Rivington, at the Bible and Crown in St. Paul’s Church-yard, M.DCC.XXXV (1735)
First edition
F1431 C66 1735

This narrative, so fantastic, was long considered to be a work of fiction pretending to be fact. John Cockburn tells a tale of extraordinary and harrowing adventure, beginning when he and his crew were overtaken off the coast of Jamaica by another ship, “…mostly Spaniards, and commanded by Captain Johnson the Pirate, an Englishman, and Pedor Poleas a Spaniard” in 1730. The surviving crew escaped from jail in San Pedro Sula in Honduras, crossed the Isthmus to San Salvador and traveled to Panama overland.

“This was the first setting out of a Journey, as we computed, through an unknown Tract of Land, (at least to us) which took us up ten Months, and I may say some times proved insupportable; for we were all the while exposed to many Dangers, and underwent many Hardships, as was possible for human Nature to sustain.” In his book, Cockburn described vegetation; animals; insects; and wrote short but vivid stories about the governments, dress, characteristics and customs of the descendants of the great Mayan empire and other native peoples (many of whom were at war with each other).

Cockburn mentions food, because it was so scare, continually, writing about corn (“Turtillias,” “Tamawlas”), plantains, fowl, berries, lizards, milk, honey, eggs, and “At last, we spy’d a Lady, in one House, very well dressed, to whom we went and begg’d her Charity. She presently made Chocolate, giving us plentifully of it, which was more acceptable to us at that Time, than Gold…”

Tobacco was second only to chocolate in its desirability: “These Gentlemen gave us some Seegars to smoke, which they supposed would be very acceptable. These are Leaves of Tobacco rolled up in such Manner, that they serve both for the Pipe and Tobacco itself. These the Ladies, as well as Gentlemen, are very fond of Smoking.”

The book was re-printed many times. A folding map depicts Central America and the Isthmus of Panama.

The edition is appended with A Briefe Discoverye of Some Things best worth Noteing in the Travells of… a popular travel narrative by Nicholas Withington, who arrived in India in 1612.

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Book of the week — Traitte Des Diuertissemens, Inclinations, & Perfections Royales

16 Monday May 2016

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aristocracy, army, booksellers, calligraphy, combat, comedy, Communaute des Libraires, cursive, damsels in distress, Dom Castagne, education, fowl, French, friendships, handwriting, hare, hunting, Imprimeurs et Relieurs, Italian, kidnappings, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, love, novel, Orient, Paris, Pierre Moreau, poacher, Potier de Morais, printer, script, stag, tennis, type, typography, writing master

DC133.3-P64-1644-pg83

DC133.3-P64-1644-pg142-143spread

TRAITTE DES DIUERTISSEMENS, INCLINATIONS, &…
Potier de Morais (fl. 1644-1670)
Paris: Pierre Moreau, 1644
Only edition
DC133.32 P64 1644

Set in the exotic Orient, this novel on the education of a prince was written for and dedicated to six-year-old Louis XIV. Potier de Morais added pedagogy on the art of being king amid attempted kidnappings, fierce combat, reversals of fortune, damsels in distress, faithful friendships, love, and, naturally, tennis. Skills such as how to conduct an army in the field are presented as the same skills needed by an absolute ruler to sponsor a grand fete.

One character is an amiable poacher, Dom Castagne, who describes his idyllic life in woods belonging to someone else, hunting hare, stag and fowl. Morais developed Dom Castagne into the lead character of an unpublished comedy.

This book was printed in Pierre Moreau’s ‘script types,’ copied from the Italian cursive calligraphy considered most polite of the time. There was a strong interest in the seventeenth century, especially among French aristocracy, in script over type. Moreau, a writing master, wrote several books on the art of handwriting. As a printer, he was the first to develop calligraphic hands into type.

By securing his privilege directly from Louis XIII in 1642 to use his “nouveau caractheres,” Moreau (ca. 1600-ca. 1649) became Imprimeur ordinaire du Roy without joining the powerful printers’ guild. This did not please the master printers of Paris. Moreau was harassed by printers, booksellers, and writing-masters alike. In 1648, the Communaute des Libraires, Imprimeurs et Relieurs secured an injunction forbidding him to print. Moreau consequently abandoned typography and died soon after.

No other copy of the present work is in the United States. University of Utah copy bound in 19th-century glazed purple boards with gilt spine title and date, red edges.

alluNeedSingleLine

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