THE NAME AMERICA. . 657 



truly authentic letter of Vespucci that had yet been found in Italy. 

 It was discovered by Signor Davari conservatore dell 'archivio Gronzoga 

 di Mantova, and although very short — only seven lines — is most impor- 

 tant for it is wholly written by Vespucci, who was, as I have said be- 

 fore, an excelliMit calligraphist. The date is : Sybilie die xxx decembris 

 MoCGCC'LXXXXn (Sevilla, the 30 Dec, 1492), and consequently 

 before the return of Colombo from his first voyage. The very distinct 

 signature is : 



Ser. Amerigho Vespucci mer- 



chante fiorentino for 



Sybilia. 

 I have received a photograph of the letter and its address, by the 

 courtesy of an Italian friend ; and I here give the facsimile of it, as 

 well as of the signature to a letter of Vespucci to the Cardinal Arch- 

 bishop of Toledo, dated Sevilla, 9 December, 1508, which was published 

 in facsimile by the Spanish Government in 1878. Those two letters 

 are the only authentic ones we possess; and the signatures are too 

 important in the question of the origin of the name America not to be 

 carefully studied. 





Now we have, without any possible doubt, the Christian name of 

 Vespucci, written by himself Amerigho with only one r and an h at the 

 last syllable, in 1492; and Amerigo with only one r and no 1i in the 

 Libras de cuentes y despachos de armadas a Indias in 1495. 



Gilberto Govi* thinks that it is the Italian Fra Giovanni del Giocondo, 

 who translated and changed too freely Amerigho into Alberico. It is 

 only a personal opinion, without any base to rest upon, for the original 

 letter of Vespucci to Lorenzo Pierfrancisco de Medicis is unknown. 

 Generally, translators do not alter and change the signatures of authors; 

 and so long as we have no positive proof to the contrary, we must say 

 that Vespucci used for his Christian name, in 1502 or 1503, the name 

 Alberico or Alberigo. Bat as his second letter to Piedro Soderini, writ- 

 ten in 1504, is sigued Amerigo, it is evident that he did not make use of 

 the name Alberico for any length of time. There are certainly strong 

 susi)icions that he made use of it, not only in his first letter to Medicis, 

 but also because Gomara, a Spanish historian of great reputation, in 

 his General History of the Indies of 1551, uses both names, saying 

 Am,erico or Alberico Vespucci, showing that in Spain the name of Al- 



•Govi died suddenly at Rome, in June, 1889, a few months only after his cominuni- 

 catiou to the Accademia dei Lincei. He was a physicist-matliematiciau of talent* 

 H. Mis. 142 42 



