[Columbus, Christopher]: Spodorno, G.B., editor:

$1,750 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

CODICE DIPLOMATICO COLUMBO-AMERICANO OSSIA RACCOLTA DI DOCUMENTI.... "This most important and valuable collection consists of an historical memoir of Columbus...followed by the letters, notes, privileges, and other writings of the great navigator, comprising every authentic document" - Sabin. Published by order of the Genoese government, this work comprises a useful early collection of primary documents relating to, as the introduction states, "the greatest event which has been seen for centuries, and of a hero who greatly honors Genoa, Italy, and Europe" (our translation). As the title suggests, the collected documents focus primarily on the diplomatic aspect of Columbus' explorations, and contain many letters from the Spanish government and its monarchs. The volume is finely printed, with Spanish texts followed by Italian translations and annotations, and supplemented by plates of Columbus' coat of arms, his bust, and two facsimile letters. A Spanish edition was printed some years later, in 1877.This copy comes from the library of Alberto Parreño, with his bookplate on the front pastedown. Parreño was a Grolier Club member and a major collector of Spanish colonial materials. A significant early work of scholarship on Columbus, and still a valuable reference.

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