POSTEL (Guillaume). De Universitate liber, in quo Astronomia - Lot 649

POSTEL (Guillaume). De Universitate liber, in quo Astronomiae doctrineve coelestis compendium terrae aptatum, et secundum coelestis influxus ordinem praecipuarumque originum rationem totus orbis terrae quatenus innotuit, cum regnorum temporibus exponitur [...] [Paris], Jean Gueullart, 1552. In-4 of 56-[4] ff. red morocco, smooth spine decorated, title and date in gilt letters throughout, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, gilt edges (18th c. binding). Two scuffs on boards. Some light spotting. Verso of f. 4 soiled. Underlining in brown ink and old marginalia in places. Extremely rare first edition of this important work of cosmography. The print run of this first edition was so confidential that the work did not enjoy real success until the wider circulation of the second edition of 1563. "In this book, Postel expresses a new aspect of his thinking by using astronomy to support his thesis of a universal monarchy organized around the King of France, monarch of Gaul, of which Gomer, eldest son of Japhet, son of Noah, is the father and founder". Claude Postel, p. 68. The work consists of 4 parts: after some general considerations on cosmography, it gives a long description of the Holy Land (Syriae, with several names printed in Hebrew characters, ff. 11v° to 34v°), which is in fact a reworking of the Syriae descriptio published by Postel in 1540, and which had definitively established him as an orientalist (Cf. Claude Postel, p. 20-21). It is followed by descriptions of France (Gallia, f. 35r° to 38r°), Europe broken down by region (ff. 38r° to 45v°), Africa (ff. 45v° to 47v°), Asia (including Arabia and India, ff. 47v° to 55r°), ending with a short description of new discoveries, including America or terra incognita (ff. 55r°-56r°). The last 4 leaves include 7 woodcuts depicting the solar system, globes (meridians, including one with climatic zones, latitudes and longitudes, and a globe representing the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe). The colophon bears a large armillary sphere mark. "POSTEL (Guill.), Royal Professor of Oriental Languages, Paris, one of the most erudite men of his time, was born on March 25, 1510, in Dolery, near Barenton (Manche), so he sometimes adds Doleriensis to his name. Postel, who died in Paris on September 6, 1581, became famous for a large number of unusual works in Latin, French and Italian, on philology, history, religion, politics, geography and astronomy. These works were much more sought-after in the past than they are today, however rare they may be." Frère. Ex-libris J.M. (Frère II, 404; Brunet IV, 840; Claude Postel, Les écrits de Guillaume Postel publiés en France et leurs éditeurs (1538-1579)).