ACOSTA, Jose de (c.1539-1600) - photo 1
ACOSTA, Jose de (c.1539-1600) - photo 2

ACOSTA, Jose de (c.1539-1600)

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£ 10 710
Auction dateClassic
13.07.2022 10:30UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
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The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 794446
Lot 181 | ACOSTA, Jose de (c.1539-1600)
ACOSTA, Jose de (c.1539-1600)

The Naturall and Morall Historie of the East and West Indies. London, 1604.

First Edition in English. 'The most convincing, detailed, and reliable account of the riches and new things of America' (Hill). Acosta was a Jesuit missionary and naturalist in Peru from 1569 to 1585, after which he moved to Mexico. 'Acosta's official duties obliged him to personally investigate a very extensive range of territory, providing him with a practical knowledge of the province, and its aboriginal inhabitants. While in Peru he was instrumental in the establishment of the first printing press, and in 1585 oversaw its first productions' (Hogwego). His Historia natural y moral de las Indias, first published in 1590, enlarged on his two earlier works and provided an encyclopedic analysis of the Amerindian world. Its popularity was immediate and immense, seeing the work translated into numerous languages. Alden & Landis 604⁄1; Arents Tobacco 67; Church 328; Hill p.3 ('His work opened the eyes of the rest of Europe to the great wealth that Spain was drawing from America. Eventually Spain grew more secretive in these matters'); Howgego A7; JCB (3) II:24; Sabin 131; STC 94.



Quarto (180 x 130mm). First leaf blank save for signature 'A', signatures a and b comprising the tables of contents bound immediately before the text, rather than at the end, and complete with blank leaf b4, woodcut head-pieces and initials (some light bronwing msotly confined to extreme margins to a few leaves at beginning and end). 18th-century speckled calf, red morocco gilt spine label, red edges (a bit dry and rubbed, joints weak). Provenance: Nathaniel Cholmley (1721-1781, M.P.; engraved armorial bookplate).







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