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Above: Jacob Cornelisz van Neck by Cornelis Ketell
Above: The voyage's return in 1599, by Cornelis Vroom
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 [1]
TO MOST-HIGHMOST-MIGHTY
AND MOST-ILLUSTRIOUSGENTLEMEN, Being in the low countries when the second design was made by your Excellencies, to send your fleets to the East Indies to bring back the riches that these fertile lands produce, & to increase by such means both the wealth of the public, & of individuals to your great praise & perpetual memory, I was tempted to embark under the guidance of Admiral Jaques Corneille Neck to be able to see with my own eyes the rare & admirable things of which we read by so many modern authors. And also to observe & consider the various customs & manners of governments of the Kings, ã 2 |
of the United Provinces
of the Netherlands.
| 1. The scroll at the top of this page is known in publishing parlance as an ornamental "head-piece". Some equate the "Double A", as found here in this headpiece, to be a Rosicrucian symbol used by such Authors as William Shakespeare and Francis Bacon. There are several other books published by Portau that have this "Double A" headpiece or one similar, including one in a 1616 book by Andre Rivet. Another, though not matching head-piece, is found within a book authored by Philippe de Mornay who was known by some as the "Protestant Pope". Having seen numerous examples of the "double A" head-piece used by different printers of the day it appears that this symbol was paired with books of certain subjects and genres, and perhaps exclusively used by Protestant printers. |