LEO AFRICANUS, Johannes

De totius Africae descriptione libri IX. (...)

First edition of the Latin translation by Joannes Florianus of the book originally published in Italian as Della descrittione dell'Africa in Venice in 1550. Small octavo. Contemporary vellum with old, but probably later leather spine label gilt. 302 leaves, lacks the final blank. Woodcut vignette on the title page. Some light foxing, a few small wormholes on the spine, "Africa. Jo: Leo" written in a contemporary hand on the bottom of the page edges, a pleasing, very good or better copy of the very uncommon first Latin edition. Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan, the Moroccan ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, was captured by Italian pirates, delivered to Pope Leo X, and converted to Catholicism, almost certainly under threat of death. Leo, a scholarly pope, was much taken with the erudite African, and encouraged this exhaustive geographical and historical treatise on Africa. By all accounts it was considered the primary source on African history, and remained so for centuries. It is one of the few works from the post-medieval Islamic world that had an influence in Europe. Leo Africanus, as he was known, later returned to Tunis and reconverted to Islam. This is generally considered to be the first book published in Europe by a person of primarily African descent. The Italian edition is rare. The last copy of this Latin edition at auction was in 1981. Blockson 101 #1 (referencing, and illustrating the title page of this edition): "Any edition of Africanus works is rare and is the cornerstone of any collection of African history."

[BTC #78130]