The first edition of Pigafetta’s account of Magellan’s circumnavigation. The most important authority on the first circumnavigation by Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521). Pigafetta was one of just 18 men to complete the circumnavigation. Indeed, Magellan is often named as the first to circumnavigate the globe. Whereas in fact he died in the East Indies on 27 April 1521 and never made it. When the ‘Vittoria’, the sole vessel remaining, reached Spain on 6 September 1522 there were just 18 survivors. The captain was Juan Sebastian del Cano (c.1492-1526) and amongst the survivors was Antonio Pigafetta.

Pigafetta (1490/91-c.1534) was the son of a noble family from Vicenza and a Knight Templar of Rhodes. An educated man, he remarkably kept a diary of the entire three-year voyage. On his return he travelled through Spain, Portugal, and France before heading to Italy. He retired in Vicenza, Italy to work on his manuscript. However, no record exists of an actual publication. Four known manuscript copies were made at the request of Pope Clement VII. The are in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, one was acquired by Sir Thomas Phillips, and the fourth is at the Ambrosiana Library in Milan. The first three are in French. That in Milan is in Italian and was discovered by Father Carlo Amoretti who published it here. It Includes one of the earliest attempts at a dictionary of native languages in the Pacific and perhaps best known contains 8 words of the Tupi from Brazil.

The expert on renaissance geography, Boies Penrose, stated that “as the first-hand narration of one of history’s three greatest voyages, Pigafetta’s book rivals Columbus’ Journal and da Gama’s ‘Roteiro'”. It discusses in detail the discovery of the Straits named after Magellan, the dreadful crossing of the endless Pacific Ocean, and was present at Magellan’s death by natives in the Philippines. Penrose states that the account is “told with vivid and graphic realism, while his tribute to his leader is strongly moving in its sincere simplicity”. The voyage is probably most significant for proving that the earth is round. Provenance: Libreria de Antano 2007; Juan and Peggy Rada Collection. Borba de Moraes (1983) II pp. 145-6; Hill 1355; Howgego (2003) M16; Martinic (1999) Seccion IV no. 69; Penrose (1955) p. 302; Sabin (1868-19) 62804; Tooley’s Dictionary (1999-2004).