[DRAKE, Francis]: Passe, Crispin van de, the Elder

[Engraved portrait of Francis Drake]

[Cologne. 1598]. Engraved portrait, approximately 4 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches. An excellent, sharp, crisp impression. Fine. In a blue half morocco slipcase.

The very rare Crispin van de Passe portrait of Drake.

This rare portrait of Drake by Crispin van de Passe comes from an early volume of engraved portraits, Effigies Regum Ac Principum, Eorum Scillicet (Cologne, 1598). Drake, who circumnavigated the globe in 1577-1580, appears under the title "most noble English knight, very experienced in all things nautical and military." "The portrait of Drake is of especial interest: it is a close copy of the smaller Hondius Drake portrait which in its first state exists in only two copies (Royal Geographical Society, and Huntington Library). It depicts him in bust, with a shield, and with a two-hemisphere terrestrial map displaying the track of his circumnavigation" - Kraus. De Passe's stylized monograph appears near the bottom of the portrait. Epigrammatic verses in Latin by Matthias Quad appear beneath the portrait.

Kraus, Drake 59; Sabin 58995; Graesse V:154; Brunet IV:414.

Item #23579

Price: $7,500.00