Castrioto Lusitano Parte I [all published] É Entrepresa, a Restaura‹o de Pernambuco e das Capitanias confinantes É.

Lisbon, Na Impress‹o de Antonio Craesbeeck de Mello, 1679.. FIRST EDITION. Folio (29.5 x 20.5 cm.), contemporary speckled sheep (recased, later endleaves; rubbed, extremities worn, one joint starting to crack), spine gilt with raised bands in five compartments, title in gilt on black leather lettering piece in second compartment from head, text-block edges sprinkled red. Engraved title page signed by Clemente Billingue, with portrait of "Castrioto Lusitano" flanked by 3 allegorical figures, 2 putti, and a coat of arms, all in an elaborate architectural frame (see below). Title-page slightly soiled, otherwise crisp and clean. In very good condition. Engraved frontispiece portrait, (9 ll.), 701, (1) pp., (23 ll.). *** FIRST EDITION of this scarce and valuable history of the wars that ultimately expelled the Dutch from Brazil. Borba de Moraes comments, "Despite the fact that it is not a primary source book, it is very much sought after and has become rare." The author based his work on a manuscript by Diogo Lopes Santiago that was not published until 1875-1880, and also on such contemporary sources as Manoel Calado's Valeroso Lucideno and D. Francisco Manoel de Mello's Epanaforas. It is written as a panegyric to Jo‹o Fernandes Vieyra, who organized and led the final insurrection (1645-1654): "Whatever his shortcomings, the rebellion of 1645 could hardly have succeeded without him, and his name is an imperishable one in Luso-Brazilian history" (Boxer p. 276). The nickname "Castrioto" refers to Jorge Castrioto, King of Epirus (Albania), the tale of whose exploits was popular in Portugal at this time. The engraved title page has an fine half-length oval portrait of Jo‹o Fernandes Vieyra in elaborately chased armor, wearing the Ordem de Cristo; a rectangle below holds his name, and running around the frame are the Latin words "Patrarunt nomen illi." Allegorical figures in niches surround him. Above the portrait, the figure of Fortitudo hefts a Doric column; putti to either side bear a sword and a trumpet, representing martial valor and fame. To the left of the portrait, Fidelitas carries a book and the scales usually associated with Justice. To the right, Liberalitas holds a book and raises a hand in greeting. At the foot of the page is Fernandes Vieyra's coat of arms, in an elaborate frame. The engraving is signed by Clemente Billingue ("Clemente Billingue Invenit e fes."), whose dates Soares estimates as ca. 1660 to after 1716. Soares considers him proficient but not inspired: "um artista operoso, correcto por vezes nos delineamentos, mas desprezando qu‡si por completo as express›es das suas figuras ... um abridor de profiss‹o e nunca um artista entusiasta pela sua arte."Frei Raphael de Jesus (d. 1693), a Benedictine monk, was named Chronista-mor do Reino by a decree of 1681. He wrote the seventh part of the Monarquia lusitana, published in 1683.*** Arouca J17. Borba de Moraes (1983) I, 427. Barbosa Machado III, 632-3. Innocncio VII, 48; XVIII, 155. Pinto de Matos, p. 331. Sabin 36088. Martins de Carvalho, Diccionario bibliographico militar portuguez (1891) p. 224. SchŠffer, Portuguese Exploration to the West and the Formation of Brazil 49. Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, Exposi‹o Bibliogr‡fica da Restaoura‹o 687. Mindlin, Highlights 116. Visconde de Trindade, Restaura‹o 327. Soares, Dicion‡rio, II, 26. J.H. Rodrigues, Dom’nio holands 215. J.C. Rodrigues 2025. JCB Portuguese and Brazilian Books 679/2. Bosch 142. Goldsmith, Short Title Catalogue of Spanish and Portuguese Books 1601-1700 in the Library of the British Museum R20. Palha 4259. Azembuja 1253. Monteverde 2947. Azevedo-Samod‹es 1632. Ameal 1222. Avila Perez 3822. Boxer, Dutch in Brazil (1957) pp. 64-5, 244n., 270-1, 273, 276, 299. Not in Martinho da Fonseca, Elementos bibliogr‡ficos para a hist—ria das guerras chamadas da Restaura‹o. Soares, Hist—ria da gravura art’stica em Portugal I, no. 319; on Billingue, pp. 127-31. Barry Taylor, "Allegorical Title Pages in Seventeenth-Century Spain and Portugal," Pruebas de imprenta, Estudios sobre la cultura editorial del libro en la Espa–a moderna 7 contempor‡na, ed. Gabriel S‡nchez Espinosa, pp. 67-82, especially p. 76.