[Lopez de Gomara, Francisco]:

$35,000 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

THE PLEASANT HISTORIE OF THE CONQUEST OF THE WEAST [sic] INDIA, NOW CALLED NEW SPAYNE, ATCHIEVED BY THE WORTHY PRINCE HERNANDO CORTES MARQUES OF THE VALLEY OF ... The first English edition of one of the most important early chronicles of the Spanish conquest of the New World, and one of the two chief accounts of Cortés' conquest of Mexico, the other being provided by Bernal Diaz. It is one of a handful of English language publications about the New World to appear in the 16th century, and an attractively printed work, with several large woodcut initials.Lopez de Gomara was Cortés' secretary for a number of years and made use of his unparalleled opportunity to gather information from the primary source relating to the extraordinary exploits surrounding the overthrow of the Aztec empire. "Contains the first printed accounts of the Cortés expeditions to California, the expeditions of Francisco Ulloa, Marcos de Niza, Coronado, the subsidiary expeditions resulting from the last, and the voyage of Cabrillo" - Wagner. The work was first published in Zaragosa in 1552 and quickly went through a number of editions in Spain, Italy, and the Low Countries. The English translation was prepared by Thomas Nicholas, who abridged the original.An important Elizabethan Americanum. This copy is from the library of one of the most famous British women book collectors, Francis Mary Richardson Currer (1785–1861), with her bookplate.

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