A Natural and Civil History of California: Containing an Accurate Description of that Country, Its Soils, Mountains, Harbours, Lakes, Rivers and Seas; Its Animals, Vegetables, Minerals and Famous Fish

$6,000 · Offered by Book Collector Inc

Author: Miguel Venegas (1680–1764) Year: 1759 Publisher: James Rivington James Fletcher Place: London Description: 2 volumes. [20]+455 pages with frontispiece, folding copper-engraved map of California and two engraved plates ; [8]+387 pages with frontispiece and two engraved plates. Octavo (8" x 5") rebacked full calf, spines tooled in gilt, raised bands, morocco lettering pieces. (Cowan p.658; Hill, Pacific Voyages, p.307; Howes V69; (Wheat, Transmississippi 138, Vol. I p.85); Zamorano 80 #78) First Edition in English. Miguel Venegas SJ was a Jesuit administrator and historian. He is most known for his book Noticia de la California , a standard geographical, historical, and ethnographic description of Baja California, Mexico—a region he never personally visited. As a historian, he was cautious in his investigations, critical in his selection of sources and concerned with discovering the truth. In his major work on California, he cited Georg Marcgraf and Willem Piso's Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (1648), an important compendium on flora and fauna in Brazil, which circulated widely in northern Europe and beyond. In the mid-1730s, he was assigned the task of writing an account of Baja California. This seems to have been, at least in part, to counter the setback to the missionaries' efforts and reputation caused by the Pericú revolt on the southernmost part of the peninsula in 1734. The historian was given access to the missionaries' correspondence and reports, and he was able

• Binding: Hardcover

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