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XXL
XXL books are a minimum 39 cm (15.4 in.)

Theodore de Bry. America

150
Availability: In Stock
When the New World was really new, Theodore de Bry drew inspiration from history’s great explorers to record its wonders. From Virginia and Florida to Brazil, his engravings captivated the European imagination with freshly discovered landscapes, customs, and peoples from the accounts of adventurers such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.
Clothbound11.2 x 15.6 in.8.02 lb376 pages
“Europe’s eye-popping first glimpse of the Americas.”
The Spectator
XXL
XXL books are a minimum 39 cm (15.4 in.)
Theodore de Bry. America

Theodore de Bry. America

150

Discovering the Americas

Two new continents unveiled by Theodore de Bry

When Flemish engraver and publisher Theodore de Bry issued the first volume of his America series in 1590, the New World was, for most Europeans, truly novel. Gleaned from the travel accounts of adventurers like Thomas Harriot, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh, De Bry’s magnificent engravings brought the new continent and its inhabitants to an enraptured audience across the Atlantic.

From “Virginia” (today’s North Carolina) and Florida through Central America and down into Patagonia, the first nine volumes of America depict scenery and encounters between native Americans and Europeans, revealing the latter’s perceptions of the former. Portrayals of European discovery and native American customs were based on the explorers’ reports as well as De Bry’s own imagination, he himself never having traveled to the New World. Although based in Frankfurt, De Bry laid the foundations of the series while in London, collaborating with artists John White and Jacques Le Moyne, whose original watercolors he adapted for the opening two volumes. With his sons, De Bry formed a family enterprise known for exquisite copper engravings and high-quality illustrations unrivaled in their mastery.

The legacy of America is profound, coloring Europe’s earliest visions of the Atlantic world. Countless European illustrations would, throughout the following centuries, draw inspiration from the spectacular collection. TASCHEN’s edition pays homage to De Bry’s finesse, reprinting all 218 plates from the first nine volumes alongside their respective frontispieces and continental maps. Volumes I to VI are based on the original hand-colored editions held at the John Hay and John Carter Brown Libraries at Brown University in Providence; volumes VII to IX are from the Staats- und Stadtbibliothek in Augsburg, Germany.

Exceptionally rare even at the time of their completion, De Bry’s hand-colored America can finally be admired by all, in XXL resolution.
The authors

Larry E. Tise became the Wilbur and Orville Wright Distinguished Professor of History at East Carolina University in 2000. He holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina and was a history administrator for many years, as well as a founder and president of the National Council on Public History. His research ranges from early explorers Thomas Harriot and Sir Walter Raleigh to the Wright brothers and the origins of flight. 

Michiel van Groesen is Professor of Maritime History at Leiden University, the Netherlands. He was previously Associate Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Amsterdam, as well as Queen Wilhelmina Visiting Professor at Columbia University in New York. Van Groesen specializes in European conceptions of the early modern Atlantic world and has been published widely on the subject.

Theodore de Bry. America
Clothbound28.5 x 39.5 cm3.64 kg376 pages

ISBN 978-3-8365-5209-7

Edition: English

ISBN 978-3-8365-7710-6

Edition: French
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5

/5

5 Ratings

Magnifique

Francois,October 30, 2021
C'est un ouvrage magnifique et riche en illustration. Un véritable vol au dessus du temps et une redécouverte fascinante de l'Histoire et de cette découverte qui changea à jamais le visage du Monde. Une qualité de papier et de couleur qui rendent honneur à la lecture.

Wonderful

André,October 27, 2021
An amazing book with spectacular illustrations.

An Important Book, A Beautiful Object

Amy,October 27, 2021
This book is a thrilling portal into history through which we can witness early indigenous culture, and, with poignancy, the beginnings of the decimation of the First People. The book itself is very beautiful- weighty, as it should be, of a size to be left out for perusal, the colors marvelous, the paper very sensual. This book is necessary for any library.

Magnifique

Francois,October 30, 2021
C'est un ouvrage magnifique et riche en illustration. Un véritable vol au dessus du temps et une redécouverte fascinante de l'Histoire et de cette découverte qui changea à jamais le visage du Monde. Une qualité de papier et de couleur qui rendent honneur à la lecture.

Effroi et fascination

Soleil,October 29, 2021
Des sensations paradoxales pourraient être vécues par le lecteur néophyte des récits des Amériques retranscrits dans ce sublime livre d'une fidélité admirable. Un grand ouvrage dont on apprécie le grain, la vivacité des couleurs reproduites, et dont la lecture surprend. La vision des Amérindiens par le monde occidental de l'époque présente dans le texte et dans les gravures est fondamentale pour qui cherche à approfondir ses connaissances concernant le colonialisme et la férocité expansionniste.