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Columbus – (Monleone, Giovanni, + Guiseppe Pessagno [ed.]). Christopher Colvmbvs. Documents and Proofs of his Genoese origin. / Christoph Colvmbvs. Dokumente und Beweise seiner Genueser Herkunft.

English-German edition. With foreword by Eugenio Broccardi (mayor of Genoa and president of the special committee formed for the compilation of this publication) and an introduction by the editors. From the Italian by O. D. Bickley B.A. and Arthur Bent (English) and Eugen Haas and Jakob Furmanik (German) resp. Genoa 1932. Fol. (39.5 x 31.5 x 5 cm). XXIII, 288 pp., 2 ll. contents and imprint as well as 16 ll. text continuation not paginated with. Orig. cloth with brown-stamped title at back and upper board, the latter additionally with the Genoese coat of arms, as well as bipartite color reproduction of the Juan de La Cosa map of 1500 on the fly-leaves. With 219 illustrations ,

both the latter with cover sheets with legend) as well as 9 interleaves (“Documentation”) bound in within the facsimile plates.

First edition. – Present English-German edition was issued at the same time as the Italian and a Spanish-French edition. – The year of the cover stamp additionally with “(A. X.)”, that is 10^th year of the fascist era. – The text printed in two columns with English on the left hand and German on the right hand column. – One facsimile each with dog’s ear and small tear off resp. in the white margin.

Subdivided  in

Evidence of Writers of the Time of Christopher Columbus – Diplomatic Correspondence – Archival Documents and other Attestations – Autographs of Christopher Columbus; His Deeds and those of His Relatives and Descendants. – Each of the reproduced documents with transcription and translation into English & German.

As of old many wanted to participate at Columbus’ fame, the one directly and not least at his apanage and titles though partly merely existing on paper only, the other at least secure the privilege of the place of birth. So beside Genoa several other Italian towns raise or raised claims for Columbus. But also Catalonia and Portugal are not to stand back.

Likewise disputed the origin from the family of a wool weaver. So in Historie del S. D. Fernando Colombo; nelle quali s’ha particolare, & vera relatione della vita, & de fatti dell’Ammiraglio D. Cristoforo Colombo, suo padre, ascribed to the son Fernando and printed in Venice in 1571 at the expense of a Genoese patrician, the original of which is not preserved though, Columbus is described as descendant of Italian aristocracy:

“ The second stage of the ‘controversy’ … began some years after the publication of these ‘Historie’ and had a very great influence in the XIX century … The controversy arose out of a conflict of interests. The Admiral’s direct lineage being extinct several families of the name of Columbus living in Northern Italy competed with each other in claiming succession to the dignity and chiefly to the appanage of the Admiral of the Indies. At first they evidently profited by the lack of precision and by certain indications found in the ‘Historie’; then the different claimants – some of Cuccaro in Monferrato and some of Cogoleto in Western Liguria – finished by agreeing and, by interpolating genealogical trees and producing evidence, they put forward a claimant in the person of a certain Bernardo Colombo. After considering the case for a number of years, the Spanish Courts gave their judgement; the claims of the presumed Italian ‘relatives’ were dismissed and their evidence declared false. The right of succession of Columbus was transmitted to his descendants in the female line, as provided for in the Admiral’s wills. It was at this time that the falsification and confusing of documents was largely resorted to for a very attractive and clearly defined purpose, that of acquiring an immense fortune. And it is obvious that the claimants had every interest to leave the original Genoese documents alone – some of which, as has been stated, were even then known – since they proved, as they prove today, Columbus’s Genoese origin, his belonging to a family of artisans and other facts which were incompatible with the ‘thesis’ of the branch of Cuccaro-Cogoleto which presupposed noble ancestry and an origin in Cogoleto …

“ Among the documents of the long lawsuit there remained various writings, the conclusions of which had not served the lawyers in their early design but which, two centuries later, provided ample material for polemics …

“ It is a certain but curious fact that even today … we find that though the Discoverer is acknowledged to be of Genoese origin, this acknowledgement is ‘conditional’. It is forgotten that every reservation destroys, or at any rate places in indefinable uncertainty, a document which, as such, must either be accepted in its entirety or completely rejected.

“ (T)he evidence we have concerning Columbus is infinitely more complete and certain than that found by scholars concerning Dante, Bacon and Shakespeare, to mention only these three great men … ”

(from the introduction).

May now the aimed at result of the inquiry have guided the selection of documents too much, may there also be deplorable inadequacies in the presentation like the lack of an index or discrepancies in references of sources – such to be found also in our days even with scientific publications and reviews meant for a less broad audience – , so even a generally quite critical reviewer then cannot but qualify present compendium not only as the probably most noteworthy, but also as the one which comes, compared with its predecessors, a little closer to its aim, and to state its value as work of reference and compilation of

“ The early writers on Christopher Columbus did not attempt to prove where he was born. They simply asserted that it was in Genoa in the province of Liguria, Italy. Later historians and biographers brought this assertion into question. All attempts to prove it have failed. The one before us is perhaps the most noteworthy, not only because it comes a little nearer than its predecessors to succeeding, but because it is the most elaborate … has brought forth this volume … to prove, not where Christopher Columbus was born, but that he was born in the city of Genoa, Italy …

“ It will be used principally as a work of reference. In spite of the emasculation of the documents and the difficulty of finding one’s way among them,

it  is  a  serviceable  compendium  of  documentary  data .

As a demonstration that the discoverer of America was born in the city of Genoa, it stands a monumental failure ”

(John Biglow in The Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 13, no. 2 [May 1933], pp. 204-212).

To continue, notwithstanding his in its kind likewise monumental criticism, per footnote with regard to present English-German edition:

“ The  facsimiles  of  documents  are  excellent

and bound in with care. There are also many facsimiles of title pages. ”

Even though today Columbus’ Genoese origin is generally acknowledged and common knowledge,

the  fight  about  Columbus  still  goes  on .

So when more recently the initiator of the Spanish forensic team which first attempted to prove the authenticity of his graves in both Spain and the Dominican Republic – which latter did not allow the opening however – is quoted in a news item:

“ The people whose last name is Colombo are cooperating less than the Coloms in Spain ”

(AP, May 20, 2006).

Might not only today, after more than 500 years, some consider the dispute about Columbus’ origin in both a broad and a narrow meaning as rather petty, so present monumental work nevertheless invites for a spirited-thorough occupation

with  the  man  who  and  his  deed & age .

Offer no. 28,916 / EUR  960. / export price EUR  912. (c. US$ 1224.) + shipping