CULTURAL READINGS: Colonization & Print in the Americas

Jay I. Kislak Foundation

Thomas Hariot, Admiranda narratio fida tamen, de commodis et incolarum ritibus Virginiae. Frankfurt: Theodor de Bry, 1590.

This volume was the initial offering in de Bry's Americas series. The narrative is by Thomas Hariot and the illustrations by John White; both were members of Sir Walter Raleigh's ill-fated Roanoke colony, an early attempt to claim Virginia for the English. White's watercolors survived the colonial failure, and de Bry's engravings made his images commonplace across Europe. White's Indians as interpreted by de Bry are notable for their careful and studied poses; they are like figures from a ballet.

Other engravings from this edition

[See also in this exhibition, the title page and the map of Virginia from this edition]

Viewers and the Viewed

• Early Impressions
• Black Legends
• [Return to] The de Bry Engravings
• Native Cultures, Ancient Cultures

Exhibition Contents | Introduction | Essays | Bibliography & Links