Martyr, Peter:

$90,000 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

EXTRAICT OU RECUEIL DES ISLES NOUVELLEMENT TROUVEES EN LA GRAND MER OCEANE OU TEMPS DU ROY DESPAIGNE FERNAND & ELIZABETH SA FEMME, FAICT PREMIEREMENT EN LATIN PAR PIERRE MARTYR DE MILLAN, & DEPUIS ... First French edition, and the first collection of voyages printed in the French language, collected by Peter Martyr, the first historian of the Americas. "Peter Martyr (1457-1526) was born near Lake Maggiore. He was a contemporary and friend of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Hernan Cortes, Ferdinand Magellan, Sebastian Cabot, and Amerigo Vespucci. Through his friendship with these explorers, as well as from his official position as a member of the Council for the Indies in Spain, he was able to obtain authentic original documents and much valuable information about the discoveries made by the early navigators. His works were held in the highest esteem by his contemporaries and are indispensable as a primary source for the history of the Americas" - Hill.This edition consists of a slightly abridged translation of Peter Martyr's first three Decades (from DE ORBE NOVO, first published in 1516 in Alcala de Henares) and three "narrations," the first being a translation of the first edition (Basel 1521) of Martyr's fourth Decade; the second and third are abridged translations of the Second and Third Letters of Cortés, first published in 1524 at Nuremberg. Cortés' famed Second Letter, dated Oct. 30, 1520, provides a vivid account of the conquest of Mexico, describing the people h

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