"[Vasco Nunez de Balboa]", Montanus, Arnoldus

Montanus' work was perhaps the greatest illustrated book on the New World produced in the seventeenth century. It contained over one hundred beautifully engraved plates, views, and maps of North and South America. The plates vividly depict forts, festivals, occupations, Dutch fleets, battles, religious rites, and customs of the native inhabitants. This important work was translated into German by Olivier Dapper, and into English by John Ogilby. Several of the plates were later acquired by Pierre Vander Aa.

This engraving depicts Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa commanding his dogs to attack Native Indians in Panama circa 1513. In the view, Balboa has entered a palace to capture the king of the Chiapas. On a sheet of Dutch text measuring 7.9 x 12.3".

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Condition: A

A dark impression on paper with a jester watermark, minor soiling in the blank margins, and a few tiny tears along the edges of the sheet.