PAOLO RAMUSIO.: Della Guerra di Constantinopoli per la Restitutione degli Imperatori Comneni fatta da sig. Venetianiet Francesi l Anno 1204. Venice 1604 First edition of this rare Venetian account of the Fourth Crusade and the fall of Constantinople in 1204, published exactly four centuries later to coincide with Venice’s commemoration of the anniversary. Large 4to (25 × 19 cm). Contemporary full vellum, soiled with some wear at upper edge; manuscript title on spine. Some light scattered foxing in a few pages, marginal worming in the lower central margins, old stamp on title. Text clean and bright. Complete: [1] title, [10], 205, [1] pp., with three full-page engravings of Byzantine emperors (Michael Palaiologos, his wife, and son in official costume) and a fine ornamental device at the end. Overall a very good copy. Paolo Ramusio, Venetian historian and member of the Council of Ten, undertook this work to present a detailed history of the Fourth Crusade for the 400th anniversary of the event. He was able to consult the rich Venetian archives, where in the early 17th century several original reports and accounts from the 13th century were still available. Following Villehardouin’s division into six parts, he reshaped the narrative to produce his own chronicle. Although largely neglected later, this history is of high value, drawing upon a tremendous amount of primary material and referring to events otherwise unrecorded. Venetian accounts of the crusade are often partial, yet here the wealth of first-hand information provides a rare and invaluable perspective.A rare early 17th-century historical account of Constantinople. Reference: Blackmer 1388.