CORTE-REAL, Jerónimo (1535–1588). Naufrágio e lastimoso sucesso da perdiçam de Manuel de Sousa de Sepulveda. Edited by António de Sousa [Lisbon]: Simão Lopez, 1594.

First edition of celebrated Portuguese poet Corte-Real’s magnum opus. The tradition of Portuguese epic poetry in the Renaissance centers largely on themes from Portugal’s ongoing naval explorations, epitomized by Luís de Camões’ Os Lusíadas printed in 1572. Corte-Real based his epic on the shipwreck of the 900-ton galleon San João off of East Africa in 1552, detailing the gruesome fates of its captain Manuel de Sousa Sepúlveda and his family.

The work was published posthumously by Corte-Real’s son-in-law who recalls hearing Corte-Real say that he considered the present work to be the “mais filha do seu engenho” (most beloved child of his genius). That estimation remains today, with it considered “com as maiores qualidades prosódicas e episódicas de toda a obra de Corte-Real. Acima de tudo, o Sepúlveda é um poema notável pela sublimidade da concepção” [the poem with the greatest prosodic and episodic qualities in all of Corte-Real’s work. Above all, Sepúlveda is a remarkable poem for the sublimity of its conception] (Alves, “Corte-Real, a Evolução da sua Arte”, Peninsula 2 (2005) 171 –199, p.184). Anselmo 803; Azevedo-Samodães 916.

Quarto (185 × 122mm). Title in red and black (toning and occasional spotting, few light stains, few marginal repairs). 19th-century red morocco-grained sheep by Emile Rousselle, wide floral border tooled in gold, spine lettered and tooled in gold, dentelles in gold, edges gilt, marbled endleaves (lightly rubbed in few places). Provenance: José Mindlin, 1914–2010 (bookplate).