[Gentleman of Elvas]:

$500 · Offered by William Reese Company

COLLECÇAO DE OPUSCULOS REIMPRESSOS RELATIVOS A HISTORIA DAS NAVEGAÇOES, VIAGENS, E CONQUISTAS DOS PORTUGUEZES. The second Portuguese edition, after the legendary 1557 first account of the De Soto expedition, RELAÇAM VERDADEIRA..., written by the Gentleman of Elvas and of which only four copies are known. The identity of the Gentleman of Elvas has remained a mystery. His firsthand narrative is the primary source for information concerning the De Soto expedition of 1539-43, the first investigation by Europeans of the southeast region of the United States. De Soto landed on the west coast of Florida in 1539, marching north through Georgia and west to Mobile Bay. His party reached the Mississippi River in 1541 and then went to Arkansas, going as far west as Fort Smith. Returning east, De Soto died and was buried in the Mississippi. The survivors floated to the Gulf and made it to Mexico.

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