[First Latin Editions of Cortes's 2nd and 3rd Letters or Cartas de Relación, bound together in a beautiful early 17th-century sammelband, along with Italian Translations of Cortes's Second and Third Letters excerpted from Ramusio's 1606 Navigatione et Viaggi, and with Porcacchi's 1605 Isolario] Praeclara Ferdinadi Cortesii de Nova Maris Oceani Hyspania Narratio [with:] L' Isole piv famose del mondo descritte da Thomasa Porcacchi da Castiglione arretino e intagliate da Girolamo Porro Padovano Con l' Aggiunta di molte Isole ALL' ILL

Cortés / Porcacchi / Ramusio

Published by Cortés / Porcacchi / Ramusio, 1524

About this Item

Cort s / Porcacchi / Ramusio / 1524 / 1605 / 1606 / [First Latin Editions of Cortes's 2nd and 3rd Letters or Cartas de Relaci n, bound together in a beautiful early 17th-century sammelband, along with Italian Translations of Cortes's Second and Third Letters excerpted from Ramusio's 1606 Navigatione et Viaggi, and with Porcacchi's 1605 Isolario] Praeclara Ferdinadi Cortesii de Nova Maris Oceani Hyspania Narratio [with:] L' Isole piv famose del mondo descritte da Thomasa Porcacchi da Castiglione arretino e intagliate da Girolamo Porro Padovano Con l' Aggiunta di molte Isole ALL' ILL (Off Premises, 102698) Folio. Full contemporary (ca. 1610) vellum over boards, five raised spine bands, leather on spine partly chipped away, exposing cords. Manuscript spine titles on spine in a fine calligraphic hand. Very minor rubbing to binding edges. Several tiny wormholes on outer surface of vellum. Four works bound in one, in following order: 1) Porcacchi: [24], 211 pages. Engraved allegorical title page and numerous engraved maps in the text, early inscription in fore-edge margin, inked over; 2) Ramusio extract: 225-296, [2] leaves (woodcut plan of Tenochtitlan on leaf qq3r and full-page illustration of Aztec pyramid on leaf qq4v); 3) Cortes 2nd letter: [4], 49, [1 blank leaf],12 leaves (leaves numbered in Roman numerals). Full-page woodcut imperial coat of arms on verso of title page; woodcut of Pope Clement VII within a medallion on verso of leaf a4; 4) Cortes 3rd letter: [4], 51, [1, errata] leaves (leaves numbered in Roman numerals). Title page with woodcut portrait on recto and full-page woodcut imperial coat of arms on verso (Cortes's 3rd letter with 2 supplied leaves, originals from another example, with some expert paper restoration with minimal facsimile work: Hh2 & Hh9, i.e. folios XLIIII and [LI]). The errata leaf at end (fol. [LII] or Hh10) with watermark of bull's head and a cross or pilgrim's staff, as in the Streeter copy. Woodcut plan of Tenochtitlan, not present as usual. Second and Third Cortes Letters of 1524 ".a work of bedrock importance to the New World" - William S. Reese. Textually Complete Examples of Both Letters in a Fine Early-17th-Century Sammelband Containing 2 Related Works The first Latin editions of Hernan Cortes's 2nd and 3rd letters. This is the first textually complete set of the two letters to appear on the market in thirty years. The folding map of Tenochtitlan and the Gulf Coast not present, as usual. The two letters by Cortes, present here in their first Latin editions, stand as "one of the most valuable accounts of all time" (Guillermo Tovar de Teresa). The exciting news of the Spanish conquistador's entry into Mexico and his encounters with Montezuma and the Aztecs in 1519 riveted European readers. While the Second Letter appears on the market periodically, the Third Letter is, for some reason, far rarer, and the appearance of the two together is a superlative presentation. This presentation is the most textually complete of the 2nd and 3rd Letters in Latin; none of Cortes's other letters was printed at Nuremberg. The Cortes Letters: The Splendid Narrative About the New Spain of the Ocean Sea Cortes wrote a total of five letters to the Hapsburg Emperor Charles V, describing his exploits in Mexico in 1519-22. In these letters he presented himself as a self-styled independent agent; indeed, Cortes rather brazenly asserted himself by reporting directly to the Emperor. For a classic overview see Justin Windsor's Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 2, pages 349-430. The First Letter, purportedly written in 1519, and said to be dated 16th day of June, was never published and is now lost. The so-called Primera Relaci n dated at Vera Cruz on July 10, 1519 and often found in modern.

Seller Inventory # 102698

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [First Latin Editions of Cortes's 2nd and 3rd Letters or Cartas de Relación, bound together in a beautiful early 17th-century sammelband, along with Italian Translations of Cortes's Second and Third Letters excerpted from Ramusio's 1606 Navigatione et Viaggi, and with Porcacchi's 1605 Isolario] Praeclara Ferdinadi Cortesii de Nova Maris Oceani Hyspania Narratio [with:] L' Isole piv famose del mondo descritte da Thomasa Porcacchi da Castiglione arretino e intagliate da Girolamo Porro Padovano ...
• Publisher: Cortés / Porcacchi / Ramusio
• Publication Date: 1524
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: VG
• Book Type: Book
• Seller catalogs:
  • Antique Maps