Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-05-16
"A LITERARY TREASURE,
A Chicago Man Buys . Rare Book in This
20 - City,

u
- - City,
A Washington dispatch to the Chicago Herald
Of recent date says: James ". Ellsworth Of
Chicago purchased here yesterday another rare
book, Latin volume, in which the name Of
America is first given to the western continent
Mr.. Ellsworth has long cherished desire to
obtain copy Of this rare book, of which but
six or eight copies are known to be in ex-
istence. His agent, William E. Curtis, finally
succeeded in getting on the track of copy,
which was said in the American Bibliotheque
to have been purchased by q New York anna
teur. After a six months search Mr.. Curtis
discovered the identity of this amateur and by
virtue OF much negotiation and the outlay of
several thousand dollars of Mr.. Ellsworth s
money the famous book goes to enrich the Chi
cago collection. The story of the book is an in
teresting one. 1t seems that in the latter part
OF the fifteenth or early part Of the sixteenth
century King Rene of Lorraine founded a uni
versity and printing press and gathered about
him number OF learned men. Among them
was Matthew Ringman. who some time
afterward was called to Paris to build a
bridge over the Seine-the bridge of
Notre Dame. which stands to this day.
While In Paris he discovered letter which
Americas Vespucci had written to Lorenzo de
Medici and sent copy Of the letter to King
place the communication in the hands of his
printer, one Martin Waldseemuller, who printed
j. as an appendix to a volume he was issuing in
Latin, called 'Rudiments of Geography"
Waldseemuller commented on the letter as fol-
flows: Now truly AS these regions are more
widely explored and another one-quarter part
discovered by Americas Nespucci, as may be
learned from the following letters, i see no
good reason why it should not be justly called
Amerigen-that is, the land of Americas,
or America, from Americas Vespucci, its
discover, man OF sagacious mind, mas
much, as both Europe and Asia derive their
names from the feminine FORM Several
editions of this documentary geography were
printed. maps were struck with 1t for model
and SO little by little the name 'Amerigen' or
America" stuck to the new region and spread
over the civilized world.
FEW COPIES IN EXISTENCE.
The copy which Mr.. Ellsworth has just Sc
are three copies in this country, and eight
known to be in existence. One is in the Brit
ish Museum. one in Vienna, one in Munich. one
in the library Of John Carter Brown of Provi-
dence, RI one in the Lenox Library, New
York, and this copy. The Ellsworth copy of
the '.Rudiments," as 1t will hencefOrth be
known, was picked up by Eyries on the quays
was sold for l60 francs; when again under the
hammer at the Yemeniz sale in 1867 1t
brought 1900 francs Mr.. Ellsworth does not
care to make public the price paid by him, as
he has been much annoyed by incidents grow
ing out Of the publicity given to the price
which he paid for the Gutenberg bible.
Humboft, in his "Examen Critique," published
in Paris in 1897, says: II have been SO happy as
to discover, very recently, the name and the
literary relations of the mysterious person
age who lin 1507) was the first TO propose
the name Of America to designate the new
cn VIII concealed
der the Grecianized name Of Hyla-
comylas." He then, by a long and ingenious
investigation, shows that the real name of this
parsonage was Martin Waldsemuller OF Frie-
bourgh, an eminent comographer, .patronized
by Rene, Duke of Lorraine, who no doubt put i'll
his hands the letter received by him from
Amerigo vespucci. The geographical works
OF Waidseemuller, under the assumed name
of Hylacomylas, had wide circulation, went
through repeated editions and propagated the
use of the name America through the world.
There is no reason to suppose that this applica-
ton Of the name was in any wise suggested by
Amerigo vespucei. 1t appears TO have been
entirely grstuitous on the part OF Waldsee-
muller"