DOUSA Georgius De Itinere suo Constantinopolitano epistola.

Blackmer, 496 ; Koç Collection, 27 ; Göllner, 2398 ; Adams, D-865 ; not in Atabey. 

First edition.

Gregorius Dousa (1574-1599) travelled to Constantinople with the Polish ambassador’s suite, reaching the city in 1597. He spent several months at the house of Edward Barton, the English ambassador, and was in touch with Theodosios Zygomalas, the corre spondent of Crusius, who loaned him a number of Greek manuscripts. Dousa brought back copies of these, but he did not live to undertake the publication of these important texts, e.g. that of Akropolites.

This account of his journey consists of a long letter to his father Janus Dousa, and also includes Greek inscriptions and letters from Meletius Piga, Simon Simonides and B. Vulcanius. Dousa’s only other published work is a translation of Kodinos’s account of the antiquities of Constantinople, Selecta de Originibus Constantinopolitanis (Heidelberg, 1596).

[Bound in at end:]

CASSIUS OF PARMA. Orpheus, et in eum Nathanis Chytraei commentariolum. Frankfurt, Johannes Wechel, 1585. 60pp. First edition of this poetry by Cassius of Parma, who took part in the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Fine copy, well preserved in its first vellum binding.

Provenance : van der Talen (18th century book plate).