Travel
SIMLER, Josias.
Vallesiae descriptio, libri duo. De Alphibus commentarius. Josia Simlero Auctore. Describuntur vero in his libris ... accessit his appendix descriptionis Vallesiae ...
Froschauer, Zurich 1574. . First edition. 8vo, (15 x 10 cms), title-page, [13], 151pp, contemporary vellum, worn and a little stained, upper inner hinge cracked but firm, Alpine Club duplicate with their ownership inscription in red to front pastedown along with earlier (contemporary?) inscription of an owner (not quite legible) in Haidenhof, Germany, a very good copy.
Josias Simler, (1530-76) was a Swiss naturalist and mountain traveller determined to promote his country (he was godson of the reformer Henry Bullinger)..This title is the first exclusively devoted the Alps and was accepted at the standard work on Switzerland until the end of 17th Century. It contains a "surprisingly good account of the geography of the Valais" (De Beer p. 10). It was later re-published by Elzevirs at Leiden in 1633 and again in Zurich in 1735. "L'edition originale de 1574 est tres rare..." (Perret). Adams S-1179;De Beer, p.8; Perret 4059;
Price: £ 3500
US Dollar Price: $ 6940
Stock Number: 58227