Representations of the Overseas World in the De Bry Collection of Voyages (1590-1634)

Michiel van Groesen, (1975) Ph.D. with honours in History, University of Amsterdam, is lecturer in American History and Early Modern History at this institution. He works on European representations of the overseas world, with particular interest for Dutch images of the Atlantic world.

"a splendid work of scholarship of almost overwhelming erudition and richness of detail [...] dedicated and intelligent scholarship." Mary Baine Campbell, Brandeis University. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 62, pp. 910-912 (Fall 2009)"[this] thorough study deserves the attention of maritime historians [...] a well-written and adequately illustrated reference book on the reflection of sixteenth-century western discoveries in print, and their influence on the readership." W.F.J. Mörzer Bruyns, The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord, XVII (2009), pp. 372-3"extraordinary in terms of its scholarship, its scope, and its achievements. [...] likely to have a significant and lasting influence on the study of travel compendia and of the representations of foreign encounters in the early modern world." Chloë Houston, University of Reading. In: Dutch Crossing, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp.96-96 (March 2010)"a fine and hard-working study." Laurence Worms, London. In: Library & Information History, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 209-210 (September 2009)"This well-crafted and highly readable book will be useful for those interested in the study of early modern readerships and publishing practices. It will also undoubtedly appeal to many cultural historians concerned with the construction of the European "gaze" and the ways in which it shaped/was shaped by predominant representations of the overseas world." Joel Konrad, McMaster University. In: Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 41, No. 1 (2010), pp. 185-187.“This volume opens a discussion of the image of the world at the eve of the Age of Exploration as well as the printed travel literature from those days. […] The Representations of the Overseas World in the De Bry Collection of Voyages is fascinating for a reader interested in the early modern prints or in the representations of the outside world based on the writings of contemporary writers. What I found especially inspiring were the fragments that point to the development and change in the public opinion of those times—discovery and colonization led to an expansion of the European consciousness about these unknown, new found lands.”Jakub Basista, Jagiellonian University, Kraków. In: Seventeenth-Century News Vol. 69, Nos. 3/4 (2011), pp. 183-186."Michiel van Groesen legt mit seiner Dissertation ein Werk vor, das neue Erkenntnisse und Anstöße bietet, die die künftige de Bry Forschung in jedem Fall wird berücksichtigen müssen. […] Mit seiner neuen Perspektive auf das Verlagshaus de Bry leistet van Groesen einen ebenso wichtigen Beitrag zur europäischen Buch- und Verlagsgeschichte wie zur Geschichte der frühen kolonialen Reisetextsammlungen." Susanna Burghartz, Universität Basel. In: Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung, Vol. 37, No. 3 (2010), pp. 527-529.

• AcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsIntroduction1. Opening up New Worlds: Sixteenth-Century Travel Literature and Collections of Voyages2. From Goldsmiths to Publishers: The Transformation of the De Bry Family3. A Prosperous Publishing House: The De Brys as Booksellers in Frankfurt and Oppenheim4. The Making of the Collection of Voyages5. Plants and Animals: The Natural World in the De Bry Collection6. Native Inhabitants: Physical Appearances and Identities7. From Gods to Idols: The Expansion of Heathendom8. Different Representations for Different Readerships: Christianity Reflected9. The Impact of Censorship: The Index Librorum Expurgatorum and other Indices10. Selling, Purchasing, and Borrowing: Towards an Understanding of Readership11. The Impact of the De Bry Collection: Travel Literature and Travel Compendia in the Seventeenth CenturyConclusionAppendices1. Publications of the De Bry Firm2. The Travel Accounts used for the De Bry Collection3. The Origins of the Engravings in the De Bry CollectionBibliographyIndex of Personal Names