Catalog Archive
Auction 193, Lot 315

"[Map in Book] An Hidrographical Draught of Mexico as It Lies in Its Lakes [in] The General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America, Commonly Call'd, the West-Indies, from the First Discovery Thereof...", Herrera y Tordesillas, Antonio de

Subject: Mexico

Period: 1726 (published)

Publication:

Color: Black & White

Size:
8.3 x 6.6 inches
21.1 x 16.8 cm
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This is the third volume of Captain John Stevens' abridged and very loose English translation of Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas Historia General de los Hechos del los Castellanos en la Islas i Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano..., originally published in 1601. Much of this volume covers Hernan Cortes' conquest of Mexico. It includes one map, An Hidrographical Draught of Mexico as It Lies in Its Lakes, which was copied not from previous editions of Herrera y Tordesillas' work, but from the accounts of Italian adventurer Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri (1651-1725). It roughly centers on Mexico City located in the Lake of Mexico and extends to show the surrounding region, including an erupting volcano in the northeast. This volume also includes two folding plates depicting the founding of Tenochtitlán and dancing Aztecs. 418 pages. Hardbound in contemporary leather with raised bands.

References:

Condition:

The folding map is very good with a few small, light stains and minor toning along the edges. Text and other plates are mostly clean and bright with a hint of toning along the sheet edges and a bit of faint dampstaining along the edges of the first 25 pages. Endpapers are loose, front board is detached, and the rear board is very loose. The binding is moderately worn with bumped corners and chips to the spine. Map (B+)/Binding (B)

Estimate: $250 - $325

Sold for: $300

Closed on 6/21/2023

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