The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections has recently acquired the following item:
Gasparo Bugati. Historia vniversale. Venice: Gabriel Giolito, 1570. First edition.
The contents of this ‘universal history’ in eight books are encapsulated within its subtitle:
Con tavole vtilissime, et necessarie, cosi per trouar facilmente i nomi de' Papi, de gl' Imperatori, & de' Re separatamente, ordinate co' numeri de gli anni, che imperarono, di quelli che uissero, & del corrente millesimo; come per le cose notabili che sono nell' opera.
Of particular interest is Book Six, which includes accounts of the voyages of Columbus, Vespucci, Magellan, and other explorers. The text details newly discovered lands and indigenous populations, including descriptions of harsh cannibals and beautiful women to be found in America.