THE VOYAGE FROM LISBON TO INDIA, 1505-6

First Edition:  xxvii, 56 pages, printed in laid paper, parchment spine and grey paper-covered boards, top edge gilt, other edges uncut.

Only Two Hundred and Fifty copies are printed, of which 1 to 6 are on parchment. This is No. 105

The Voyage from Lisbon to India, 1505-6, being an Account and Journal by Amerigo Vespucci edited by C. H. Coote, is a fascinating, though academically discredited, piece of Vespucci scholarship. The book, produced in a deluxe format, was enthusiastically presented by Coote but was later revealed to be based on an inauthentic document. Coote claimed to have translated the journal from a contemporary Flemish manuscript found in the British Museum. He asserted that this document proved Vespucci commanded a Portuguese voyage to India between 1505 and 1506, filling a major gap in the accepted records of his life and confirming his role as a serious explorer. Modern research has shown that the 'original' Flemish manuscript Coote translated was actually a later copy of a printed pamphlet that circulated in Europe shortly after the voyage. This pamphlet was an accurate report of the 1505-1506 Portuguese voyage, but it did not name Amerigo Vespucci as the author or commander. The attribution of the journal to Vespucci was a mistake or an outright editorial fabrication, possibly stemming from Coote's own desire to credit Vespucci. Vespucci's role in this 1505-1506 voyage is not supported by any other reliable contemporary evidence. The 1894 book is therefore not valued for its factual historical content regarding Vespucci, but rather as a bibliographical curiosity and an example of the often-heated debates surrounding Vespucci's legacy in the 19th century. In short, the work is considered important but unreliable in the history of cartography and early American discovery. (Assisted by Gemini AI)