4 Books That Were the First of Their Kind

From the first cocktail book to the first modern atlas

By Google Arts & Culture

MA Library Books (2016-05-29/2016-05-29) by Paul MillerThe Prince's Foundation

Do you know who created the first cocktail book or when the first modern accounting book was published? Find out more about these books that were the first of their kind...

Blue Blazer

The first cocktail book

In 1862, Jerry Thomas published the first ever cocktail book in the United States titled The Bar-Tender’s Guide, How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion.

Before he turned his interest in mixing drinks into a cocktail book, you would have found Thomas working as a bartender at a hotel in San Francisco. Today he is known as "the father of American mixology."

Modern Atlas

The first modern atlas

Abraham Ortelius wrote the first modern atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World), which was printed in Antwerp in 1570.

At the time, Ortelius' atlas provided new historical and geographical insights on the world, even though a lot of the maps were based on sources that no longer exist.

Folded map of Africa interior by Filippo Pigafetta based on Duarte Lopes

The first German translation of an early travelogue

The first German translation of one of the earliest and most influential travelogues of West Africa is Regnum Congo.

This translation is based on the Spanish theologian Cassiodoro de Reinas' latin translation and was published in 1597 as first part of a famous collection of travelogues titled India Orientalis.

Summa de Arithmetica geometria proportioni

The first modern accounting book

Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli's book Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita (Summary of arithmetic, geometry, proportions, and proportionality) was first published in 1494.

The book includes a summary of basic Renaissance mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and accounting. Pacioli is now known as the "father of accounting."

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