LIAM [or Nunes de Leão], Duarte Nunes do.

Orthographia da lingoa portuguesa. Obra util, & necessaria, assi pera bem screver a lingoa hespanhol, como a latina, & quaesquer outras, que da latina teem origem. . . .

      Lisbon, João Barreira, 1576. Large woodcut printer's device on title of palm tree with mountains and setting (rising?) sun in background, in an oval frame, with the words "Omnia" and "Omnibvs" vertically at each side. Woodcut initials. (4 ), 78 ll. 4º, eighteenth-century mottled calf (slight wear to extremities), back richly gilt, crimson leather label, gilt letter, edges sprinkled red. Some soiling to title-page; occasional light waterstains. Substantial contemporary or slightly later annotation in outer blank margin of leaf H8 recto. Overall a very good copy. FIRST EDITION of the first comprehensive treatise on proper Portuguese spelling, and only the second published study of any aspect of the Portuguese language, preceded by Fernão de Oliveira's Portuguese grammar of 1536 (see Saraiva & Lopes, @História da literatura portuguesa, 9th ed., p. 25). It can be seen as part of the widespread effort in the sixteenth century to standardize the orthography of vernaculars.Duarte Nunes de Lião, historian, philologist, geographer, and jurisconsult (ca. 1530-1608), was born at Évora and studied civil law at Coimbra. He eventually rose to the position of judge of the Casa da Supplicação (court of appeals). His many other published works include the @Repertorio dos cinquo livros das ordenacões (Lisbon, 1560), an important summary of Portuguese laws (updated by his @Leis extravagantes, Lisbon, 1569), @Chronicas dos Reis de Portugal (Lisbon, 1600), @Origem da lingoa portuguesa (Lisbon, 1606), and @Decripção do Reino de Portugal (Lisbon, 1610).Innocêncio II, 210. Anselmo 225. BN, Lisboa, @Catálogo dos impressos de tipografia portuguesa do século XVI 410. Barbosa Machado I, 736–7. King Manuel 154. Welsh, @Greenlee Collection 2606. Palau 196757. Azevedo–Samodães 2244. Mindlin, @Highlights 504. Palha 668. Salvá 2359. Heredia 1481. NUC: DLC, ICN, MH