Histoire generale des voyages et conquestes des Castillans dans les Isles et Terre-ferme des Indes Occidentales.
Paris: Nicolas & Jean de la Coste, 1660.
Short thick 4tos (9.25 x 7.5 inches). 3 volumes, handsomely bound in full contemporary mottled calf; elaborately gilt-stamped spines with red & black labels and raised bands; marbled endpapers, all edges red. [30], 776, [24]; [24], 784, [28]; [18], 790, [12] pages. The books cover the first three decades -- the period from 1492 to 1514 (subsequent decades were never translated). Some light foxing throughout, as usual; small personal bookplates on pastedowns and faint blue library stamps on each title page; spines are coated and have a shine that the boards do not, but still an attractive and complete copy of this important work on the history of the New World. Paris: Nicolas & Jean de la Coste, 1660 & La Veuve Nicolas de La Coste, Francois Clouzier et Pierre Aubouin, 1671. First editions.
The first Spanish book of this magnitude on the history of the New World. Antonio Herrera y Tordesillas (1559-1625) was the first royal historian of the West Indies, and his position gave him unusual access to official sources and other documents. This ambitious work covers New World history -- the voyages of Columbus and Vespucci, the discovery of the South Sea, conquests by Cortes and others in Mexico, and the institutions and customs of the early civilizations in "New Spain" before the arrival of Europeans, border disputes with the Portuguese, etc. Translated from Spanish (1601-1615), this is the first French edition of this important book, and a cornerstone of early Americana. Bibliographers usually reference these works separately as they are very rarely found together. The first two volumes, translated and edited by Nicolas La Coste, appeared in 1660, but the third volume was only realized eleven years later, with the assistance of Clouzier & Aubouin to complete the printing. Scarce. OCLC lists only 14 complete sets, including those at Yale, Harvard, Cambridge, Library of Congress, and Bibliotheques Nationale de France & Espana. -- Sabin 31548, 31549 & 31550; Palau IV.27 or 114293.
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good(+)
Edition: First
Language: French
Price: $12,500.00
Item #262442