Exquemelin, Alexandre Olivier. Piratas de la America [Buccaneers of America]. Translated into Spanish byAlonso de Bonne-Maison.

AUCTION 12 | Tuesday, March 13th, 2001 at 1:00
Important Hebrew Printed Books and Manuscripts From the Library of the London Beth Din

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Lot 24
(AMERICAN JUDAICA)

Exquemelin, Alexandre Olivier. Piratas de la America [Buccaneers of America]. Translated into Spanish byAlonso de Bonne-Maison.

FIRST SPANISH EDITION. Title printed in red and black. Engaraved coat of arms on verso of title. With 1 (of 4) engraved portraits; 2 (of 5) engraved plates, one folding; engaraved folding map of Panama; in text engraving on p.20. pp.(42),16,328,(4). Title loose with neat smal marginal repair, lightly browned. Contemporary sheep, gently rubbed at edges,upper cover detached, lacking spine. 4to Palau 85730; Sabin 23471

[Amsterdam: David de Castro Tartas] 1681

Est: $5,000 - $7,000
A psudo-Cologne imprint, the balance of conventional schorarship identifies this work as the output of David de Castro Tartas’ press at Amsterdam. Most of the contributors to this edition, were from the circle of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam, several of whom were well-intergrated in Christian literary circles and were personal aquaintances of Exquemelin. It is intersting that the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam were so intersted in and familiar with the New World. Of great significance, is the introductory poem by the Marrano poet and historiorgrapher, Daniel Levi (Miguel de) Barrios who was an active member of the Amsterdam Sephardic Talmud Torah congregation. In it, he displays knowledge of the Atlantic and Caribbiean Islands, including Trinidad, Tobago, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Santa Lucia, Guadalupe, Barbados, Tortuga, Jamaica and Haiti. Barrios had made the voyage to Tobago in 1660, but his wife having died on arrival, he returned immediately to Holland. Barrios’ poem is one of the earliest works specifically devoted to America by a Jewish writer.