[Gentleman of Elvas]:

$4,000 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

HISTOIRE DE LA CONQUESTE DE LA FLORIDE, PAR LES ESPAGNOLS, SOUS FERDINAND DE SOTO. One of the earliest obtainable editions, and first in French, of this extremely important narrative, preceded by the 1557 original (of which only four copies are known) and two English editions translated by Richard Hakluyt in 1609 and 1611. The identity of the Gentleman of Elvas has remained a mystery. His 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 became the first documented Europeans to cross its threshold, going perhaps as far as the present Oklahoma-Arkansas border. Returning east, De Soto died and was buried in Mississippi. The survivors floated to the Gulf and made it to Mexico.

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