Medina, Pedro de. L'Art de naviguer de maistre Pierre de Médine, Espaignol: contenant toutes les reigles, secrets, & enseignemens necessaires, à la bonne navigation. Traduit de castillan en françoys, avec augmentation et illustration de plusieurs figures et annotations, par Nicolas de Nicolai, du Dauphiné, Geographe du tres-Christien Roy Henri II. 6 nn.,115 nm., 1 w. Bl. With large woodcut TVignette. numerous 5-line woodcut Vignettes, among them 9 large scenic, 2 woodcut headpieces and 82 text woodcuts, partly with figural schemas, some with representations, as well as numerous typographical tables. 32 x 22 cm. Rich blind-embossed pigskin d. C. (somewhat scraped and rubbed, slightly flecky) over 4 frets with heavy, fastened wooden covers and 1 (of 2) punctured brass clasps. Lyon, Guillaume Rouille, 1554. STC 308. Adam's M 1027. Europaean Americana 554, 44. Palau 159669. Burden 19. Sabin 47345. Baudrier IX, 216. – First French edition, in second print with the year "1554" on the cover page (instead of "1553" in the first). Divided into eight parts "Livres", this is the first reliable work on professional navigation in seafaring. The explorer, sailor, mathematician, historian, cosmographer and cartographer Pedro de Medina (1493-1567) was one of the most important Spanish scholars. With his "Arte de nauegar", Cordoba 1545, first published in Spanish, he founded the maritime science of modern times. The high art of navigation was one of the most protected secrets of the Spanish Crown, for centuries it established Spain's supremacy both in trade and in military operations - and in concrete terms in the conquest and colonization of new territories. The "Arte de nauegar" and especially the present 2. Print from the French first edition is of particular importance here, since it allowed for the first time other nations to make the secret knowledge of the "Casa de Contratación" in Seville accessible to the courts of all Europe, which led not least to the strengthening of the competing states such as England, which was known to become a new maritime and world power from 1588. The technique necessary for navigation is presented, the instruments, the mathematics for the calculation of the position as the routes. Construction, operation and use of compass, Jacob's rod, sundial, reading the tidal tables and navigation according to the stars are explained in detail and on the basis of the numerous printed woodcuts. The explanations were so exact that even the Flibustier Sir Francis Drake always carried a copy of the French edition of 1554 on all his world trips. The "géographe et valet de chambre du Roi de France" Nicolas de Nicolay (1517-1583), court geographer of Henry II, performed the translation into French. While the woodcuts show partly diagram-like representations with reference points, circle circles etc., some are very nice figural and others scenically executed. Of great rarity (since mostly separated) is the double-leaf stinged folding card, which also comes from Nicolay and is also available here in the relevant version of 1554. It shows the world from the perspective of the Atlantic, right Europe and Africa, left America as "Nouveau Monde", lower left referred to as "Par N. Nicolaj du daulphine Géographe du Roy". – Purpose and the first layers with small moisture damage in brown water edge, outbursts of the white edge and cracks decreasing over the first four leaves, title with almost invisible, unreadable oval stamp shave, somewhat finger- and brown-spotted, the border without loss of representation. Five leaves with larger unsightly cut-out at the upper edge (each about 6 x 20 cm, probably cut-outs of the woodcut headpieces, text loss recto and verso): the leaves a1, d2, A2, C1 and D4, usually only smaller cracks are affected. Some wet and brown spots. The beautiful Atlantic map with corner tear from the right (only very minimal to the representation), slightly moist, in the representation remarkably beautiful and well preserved. Overall, except for the cut-out, a very neat specimen of this extremely rare print. Provenance: From private Austrian ownership. No entry in Lostart, Art Loss Register and Missing Books Register (as of 27-08-26). – Other works by Lyonnese printer Guillaume Rouille: 1) (Guillaume Du Choul). Des Bains et antiques exercitations grèques et romaines. 20 num., 6 nn. Bl. (le. w.). (Ebenda 1555). Discours sur la castramation et discipline militaire des Romains. 33 (instead of 55) pp., 1 w. Bl. (Ebenda 1556).- Missing several leaves, fol. 7, 8, 10, 11, 13-21, 25-30, 35, 36, 38-42, 44, 47-50, 52 with corresponding illustrations. - 3) The same. ==References====External links== 312 pp., 28 p., (le. w.). With hundreds of smaller and numerous large text woodcuts. (Ebenda 1556). - A larger tear, a cut-out (loss of text), otherwise complete, minimally moist, hardly flecky.