This book of antediluvian aspect, bound in leather with metal fittings, was originally written in Latin by Pigafetta from the sailor Lopex's supposed observations.

It was later translated into German and printed in Frankfurt in 1598. The scholarship of the illustrators (the brothers de Bry) is questionable, and the engravings are thought to have been drawn purely from imagination, as they depict fantastical creatures and Africans with clearly Caucasian features.



The above plate shows the ageless cannibal Anziques.