About this Item
London: Richard Bentley, 1848, Third Edition in Two Volumes. Two volumes in full polished calf leather bindings with twin red and green title labels, gilt decoration to the spines, gilt and blind tooled decoration and filet to the boards and marbled end papers and page edges. Map of Peru to Vol I, with 2 frontispiece portraits to the volumes and a facsimile signature plate to Vol II. Lacking gilt to the number label of Vol II. Pagination: Vol I xxxvi, [i], 480pp; Vol II xx, 490pp. William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 January 28, 1859) was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian. Despite suffering from serious visual impairment, which at times prevented him from reading or writing for himself, Prescott became one of the most eminent historians of 19th century America. He is also noted for his eidetic memory. After an extensive period of study, during which he sporadically contributed to academic journals, Prescott specialized in late Renaissance Spain and the early Spanish Empire. His works on the subject, The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic (1837), The History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843), A History of the Conquest of Peru (1847) and the unfinished History of the Reign of Phillip II (1856 1858) have become classic works in the field, and have had a great impact on the study of both Spain and Mesoamerica. During his lifetime, he was upheld as one of the greatest living American intellectuals and knew personally many of the leading political figures of the day, in both the United States and Britain. Prescott has become one of the most widely translated American historians and was an important figure in the development of history as a rigorous academic discipline. Historians admire Prescott for his exhaustive, careful, and systematic use of archives, his accurate recreation of sequences of events, his balanced judgments and his lively writing style. He was primarily focused on political and military affairs, largely ignoring economic, social, intellectual, and cultural forces that in recent decades historians have focused on. Instead, he wrote narrative history, subsuming unstated causal forces in his driving storyline. Provenance: no inscriptions or bookplates. Approximately 8 ¾ (22cm) inches tall. Condition Report Externally Spine good condition gilt titles to twin labels, gilt raised bands, gilt decorated compartments, lacking gilt and the red leather to the number label of Vol II. Joints good condition rubbed and worn. Corners good condition bumped and worn. Boards good condition full calf with gilt and blind tooled borders to front and rear, the outer edges of the boards are also decorated in gilt, marks and scratches. Page edges good condition all marbled, top edge darkened. See above and photos. Internally Hinges good condition intact. Paste downs good condition marbled. End papers good condition marbled, subsequently tanned and foxed. Title good condition tanned with some offsetting from the frontispiece, some foxing. Pages good condition tanned with minor foxing. Binding good condition an attractive set. Seller Inventory # ABE-1726845247702
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