Illustrations and first accounts of the great discoveries of the 16th century digitised and online

 

The Bodmer Foundation owns a full Latin version of Voyages by Théodore de Bry, a sixteenth-century Protestant engraver and editor who was  famous  for  his  descriptions  of  the  early  European  expeditions  and the discovery of America. The 29 volumes that make up de Bry’s Grands Voyages (Americas) and Petits Voyages (Africa and Asia) were published between 1590 and 1634, and include over 50 travel accounts and  almost  600  engravings.  With  their  detailed  illustrations,  these  first  written  records  from  the  Age  of  Discovery  are  an  invaluable  source  of  knowledge  and  references.  Inaccessible  as  a  whole  until  today, all the volumes of Voyages have been digitised by the Bodmer Lab with additional comments. They are now available to the general public and scientists without charge.