The Book of Michael of Rhodes: A Fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript

Pamela O' Long, David McGee, Alan M. Stahl (eds)

ISBN 10: 0262135035 / ISBN 13: 9780262135030

Published by The MIT Press, 2009

About this Item

Excellent condition. Binding is tight. Inside is clean and unmarked.

Seller Inventory # 2053742

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Book of Michael of Rhodes: A Fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262135035
• ISBN 13: 9780262135030
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Transportation
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

The facsimile of a hand-lettered and illustrated manuscript by a fifteenth-century Venetian seaman, reproduced in full color and published for the first time.

In the fifteenth century, a Venetian mariner, Michael of Rhodes, wrote and illustrated a text describing his experiences in the Venetian merchant and military fleets. He included a treatise on commercial mathematics and treatments of contemporary shipbuilding practices, navigation, calendrical systems, and astrological ideas. This manuscript, “lost,” or at least in unknown hands for over 400 years, has never been published or translated in its entirety until now.
Volume 1 is a facsimile of the manuscript, reproduced in full color. The text is written out by hand and beautifully illustrated (probably at least in part by Michael himself), featuring color diagrams and illustrations of naval architecture, original drawings of astrological signs, calendrical charts, and a coat of arms Michael devised for himself.

About the Author

David McGee, formerly Research Associate and Head of Secondary Acquisitions at the Dibner Institute's Burndy Library, is an independent scholar, working recently with the Canadian Science and Technology Museum.