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Tomo Primeiro [all published]. Folio (28.8 x 21.4 cm.), contemporary speckled sheep (some binding wear, especially at corners, edges of boards; two pinpoint wormholes near head of spine, one at front joint), spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments (slightly rubbed), crimson leather lettering piece in second compartment from head with short-title in gilt letter, text block edges sprinkled red. Title page in red and black, with small engraved emblem of the Academia Real da História, consisting of the Portuguese royal arms with allegorical foreground. Lovely engraved allegorical frontispiece by Harrewyn after Vieira Lusitano. Finely engraved letters "C" (4 x 4 cm., unsigned and undated), "E" (same dimensions, signed by de Rochefort and dated 1730), and "M" (same dimensions, signed by de Rochefort and dated 1736). Four fine engravings in text (about one third page in size) by Rochefort (dated 1736), Debrie (dated 1736), and two by Rousseau after Vieria Lusitano (undated). Two engraved coats-of-arms, on pp. 273 (of D. Fr. Lourenēo Gil) and 274 (of D. Joćo de Sousa; also occupying approximately a third of each page), both signed by de Rochefort and dated 1735. Large folding map of the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino (39.7 x 44.8 cm.), engraved by Michael Le Bouteux after Joćo de Abreu Gorjćo, dated 1736 (tear of about 3 cm. at bottom edge). A wide-margined copy. Some browning, as usual (mostly light, but a bit heavier in some leaves). In good to very good condition. Armorial bookplate, in red and black, of Eugenio de Andrea da Cunha e Freitas. (16 ll.), 408 pp., engraved frontispiece, large folding map. *** FIRST and ONLY EDITION. While the abilities of the Dominican Fr. Lucas de Santa Catarina as an historian have been denigrated, this is an ambitiously printed volume, and the first book in Portuguese to attempt a history of the Knights of Malta. It is nicely produced, in the same format and with some of the same, or similar illustration and decoration as other books printed for the Academia Real de História in Lisbon at about this time when Brazilian gold and diamonds were enriching the Portuguese crown, including what is virtually a companion volume, the Supplemento historico, ou memorias, e noticias da celebre Ordem dos Templarios, para a Historia da admiravel Ordem de Nosso Senhor Jesu Christo . by Alexandre Ferreira, which the same printer produced in Lisbon the following year.The present copy, and another sold by us in 2004 had the engraved emblem on the title page signed by de Rochefort and dated 1736; in another, sold by us in 2012, this emblem did not have any signature or date. In the copy sold in 2004 the frontispiece was dated 1728; in the present copy there is no date on the frontispiece, as was the case with the copy sold in 2012. There are one, or at the most two copies recorded with an unnumbered errata leaf at the end, not present here, and never seen by us on the market. Aside from Azevedo Samodćes, Ameal (these the same copy), and Įvila Perez (quite possibly also the same copy), none of the other references mention this errata leaf. Curiously, it is said to be titled in Latin, while the rest of the book is in Portuguese.A native of Lisbon, Fr. Lucas de Santa Catarina (1660-1740) entered the Dominican Order at Benfica, 1680. Given the post of cronista-geral of his order, Fr. Lucas was charged with the responsibility of completing the História de Sćo Domingos left by Frei Luķs de Sousa. He was one of 50 selected by King Joćo V as a founding member of the Academia Real de História Portuguesa. His Seram politico, abuso emendado, dividido em tres noites para divertimento dos curiosos, first published in 1704, with a second edition in 1723, consists of three novelas in prose, interspersed with both serious and comic poetry in Portuguese and Spanish. Its thrust is a critical attack on the excesses of the baroque style, from a baroque perspective. A great deal of Fr. Lucas' secular literary output was left unp. Seller Inventory # 41674
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