Svmmario de la generale historia de l'Indie occidentali : cavato da libri scritti dal signor don Pietro Martyre, del Consignio delle Indie della maesta de l'imperadore, et da molte altre particvlari relationi
This is a 1534 Italian summary of the natural and general history of the West Indies, compiled from works by Pietro Martire d'Anghiera and Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and printed in Venice, aimed at a general readership of European readers curious about the New World. The pictures are small black-and-white woodcuts: two show tall palms and a broad-leaved tree with climbing vines and tiny figures at its base, set against flat distant hills, while two decorative initials with stylised leaf and scroll ornament show how Renaissance printers framed text. A designer could draw on the crisp hatched line work, the ornamental initial frames, and the spare botanical drawing of palms.
