Bidspirit auction | Linschoten - 4 Engravings of

Linschoten - 4 Engravings of the East Indies or Spice Islands - Included in this lot: Silk Road, East Indies, Portuguese Soldiers East Indies - Portuguese Couple with Servants, East Indies East Indies - Portuguese Noble on Horse East Indies - Portuguese Women in Carriage or Litter Description of the work: This exceptionally detailed, important engraving is from Jan Huygen van Linschoten's Histoire de la Navigation aux Indes Orientales... Le Grand Routier de Mer... Description de l'Amerique or Navigatio ac Itinerarium Iohannis Hugonis Linscotani in Orientalem Sive Lusitanorum Indiam... [Voyage and Journey of Jan Huygen van Linschoten to the Eastern, or Portuguese India...] commonly referred to as Itinerarium . The work was published in Amsterdam in 1619 by Jan Everts Cloppenburgh. This is from the second French edition of the work. Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563-1611) was a Dutch spy, merchant, traveler, and writier. This work detailed Linschoten's time in Portuguese Goa under the employ of the Viceroy. He was immersed in the culture of the East and learned about trade opportunities with China, Japan, and the Spice Islands. His gathering of classified information allowed the Dutch and later English to break the Portuguese trade monopoly in the East. Provenance: Philadelphia Mercantile Library ink stamp to verso of first title Paper Size: ~ 14 1/4” by 11 3/8” (Fold Out) Paper Type or Special Features: Engraving