CANINI, Angelo; Antonio de NEBRIJA (Nebrissensis) and Gaspar BARREIROS (VARRERIUS) (and Abraham ORTELIUS).

An important early Americanum concerning the discovery by Columbus, De locis S. Scripturae Hebraicis Angeli Caninii commentarius et Antonii Nebrissensis Quinquagena. Nunc primùm simul emendatiùs edita. Accessit Gasparis Varrerii Lusitani De Ophira Regione in Sacris litteris Disputatio.

      Gerardus Rivius, 1600., Louvain, - 8vo. Contemporary limp vellum with title written in ink on spine, remnants of ties. With woodcut 'IHS' vignette on title. (8), 197, (9), (3), (14), 299-250, (6) pp. Extremely rare edition of these works with the final section (72 pp.) containing an important text on early America: the treatise De Ophira Regione by the Portoguese geographer Gaspar Barreiros (Caspar Varrerius; d. 1574) concerning the New World and it's discovery by Christopher Columbus. This text was published for the first time in the Chorographia by Barreiros, in Coimbra 1561 and was reprinted several times during the 16th and 17th centuries in collections of texts such as the present collection, or in the Novus Orbis, id est Navigationes prima in Americam (Rotterdam 1616), or after the edition of the History of Gelre by Pontanus (Harderwijk 1637). It seems unlikely that this work was published separately, and so this 1600 edition may well be the second edition.In this text the author disproves the then reigning opinion that the legendary region of Ophir of King Solomon had to be located in America and identical with Peru. Ophir, however, is probably located at the east coast of Arabia, from where Solomon's ships brought home tons of gold. Varrerius himself is of the opinion, following St. Jerome and Josephus, that Ophir lies in India. "His reasoning is ingenious and learned" (Sabin).The first two works - De locis S. Scripturae Hebraicis by the Italian philologist Angelo Canini (1521-1557); and the Quinquagena by the Spanish classical scholar Antonio de Nebrija (1444-1522) reflect on the names of places, (also of people and animals, etc.) of Hebrew origin in the New Testament.The collection was simultaneously printed in Antwerp, by the Heirs of Joh. Bellerus, and in Louvain, the Louvain printing seems to be of the utmost rarity.Contents:p. (1): Title (verso blank)pp. (3-7): Dedicatory letter by Gaspar Bellerus to Balthasar Suniga.p. (8): Contents of Canini's work.pp. 1-75: Angelo Caninio, Loci aliquot Novi Testamenti cum Hebraeorum originibus with its 13 chapters: 'De Jesu & Iova; De Hosanna, De Amen, De Rabba, De Mamona, etc.pp. 75-76: 'Precatio Dominica' and 'Salutatio angelica Syriacè'.pp. 77-197: Antoniode Nebrija, Quinquagena, seu Quinquaginta S. Scripturae locorum explanatio; ordine alphabetico.pp. (1-3): Index of the chapters of the previous work.pp. (1-6): Letter by Caspar Varrerius to King Joannes of Portugal datedEbora, 27 November 1550.pp. (7-11): Letter by Caspar Varrerius to Sebastian Summa, dated Ebora, 26 April 1560.pp. (12-14): Argumenta copmmentarii de Ophyra regione Gasparis Varrerii.pp.199-250: Caspar Varrerium, Commentarius de Orphyra regione, lib. III Reg. Cap. IX. et X. et II. Paralip. IX. commemorata; unde Salomoni Iudaeorum Regi inclyto, ingens auri, argenti, gemmarum, eboris, aliarumque rerum copia apportabatur.pp. (1-3): Abraham Ortelius, De Ophira regione (in Thesaro Geographico).p. (4): Idem, 'De Paradiso'.p. (5): Errata.p. (6): 'Nihil obstat' signed by Guiliel. Fabiricius Noviomagus. Good copy.- (Some sl. browning in a few quires). Belg. Typ. 548; Index Aureliensis 131.043; European Americana 600/28; Leclerc 414; Sabin 3596 (Antwerp ed.); Adams C507 (Antwerp ed.); Machiels C85 (Antwerp ed.); not in NUC. [Attributes: Signed Copy]