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1492 — cover
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Aeneas Press edition 20th Century

1492

by Mary Johnston 1870–1936

The book, and the century it came out of.

Granada has fallen, the Jews are expelled, and a Spanish seaman sails west with Columbus in a crew that expects to die. Johnston was a Virginian, largely self-taught after illness ended her schooling, and one of the best-selling American novelists of her day; she wrote the first crossing from the deck, and the discovery is shown as what it was for the people already living there. Illustrated with 60 full-page plates — paintings by Giorgione, Storck and Carpaccio among them.

THE morning was gray and I sat by the sea near Palos in a gray mood.
The first sentence of 1492
A note on this edition

1492, by Mary Johnston, complete and unabridged. Spelling and punctuation follow present-day American usage; the sentences, the paragraphs and the voice are the author’s, word for word.

It was written in another era and may carry attitudes a reader today will find dated. They are kept for the sake of the work and do not reflect the views of this house.

The edition
Format
Ebook
Extent
about 304 pages
Reading time
about 6 hours
Illustrations
Full-page plates, credited
Text
Complete, unabridged
Language
en
This edition
2026
ISBN
9785486899102
The plates

60 paintings are bound into this edition

Six of them are shown here, taken from the volume itself. Each is reproduced full page and named with its painter and year.

The Tempest, Giorgione
The Tempest Giorgione 1506
Card players., Lucas van Leyden
Card players Lucas van Leyden 1510
The Three Philosophers, Giorgione
The Three Philosophers Giorgione 1500
Landscape with Castles, Bartolomeo Montagna
Landscape with Castles Bartolomeo Montagna 1500
The Triumphs of Caesar: 8. The Musicians, Andrea Mantegna
The Triumphs of Caesar: 8. The Musicians Andrea Mantegna 1488
Return of the Noveschi to Sienne, Guidoccio Cozzarelli
Return of the Noveschi to Sienne Guidoccio Cozzarelli 1488
The setting

A page from this edition

Not a mock-up: this page is taken from the finished volume. The ornament above the chapter belongs to its shelf and to no other, the opening letter is set as a drop capital, and the plate below carries the name of the painter and the year.

A page of 1492 as set for this edition
The opening of a chapter
A page of 1492 as set for this edition
A page where a plate falls

Both photographed from the finished volume.

Colophon

1492, issued in this edition by Aeneas Press in 2026 on the Adventure & the Sea shelf. Newly set, with the ornament of its series above each chapter and a drop capital on the opening page. Illustrated with full-page plates, each named with its painter.

Published as an ebook and not issued in print by this house; it carries one ISBN, 9785486899102, and is supplied worldwide. This edition — its setting, its ornament, its cover art, and the selection and attribution of its plates — © 2026 Aeneas Press.

Before you buy

Questions readers ask

Is this the whole of 1492?
Yes — complete and unabridged. Nothing is cut, condensed or paraphrased. This is the book, not a summary of it.
What exactly did you change?
The spelling and the punctuation follow present-day American usage. Mary Johnston's sentences are untouched — same words, same order, same rhythm.
Are the pictures really in the book?
Yes. The edition carries full-page plates bound into the text, each one named with its painter and the year it was made. Six of them are shown on this page.
How long is it?
About 304 pages, which is roughly about 6 hours of reading.
What do I actually get?
An illustrated ebook with its own ISBN, sold worldwide. One file, yours to keep, readable on any device.
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1492
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