ID 411415
Lot 8 | Cortés and the conquest of Mexico
Estimate value
$ 3 000 – 5 000
Early edition of the most important work on Cortés and the conquest of Mexico by its principal authority. While this edition—with the letterpress title, 211 chapters, and the same number of leaves—is identified by Sabin as the first edition, first issue, recent scholarship has concluded that it is in fact a later pirated edition, probably printed in the late 17th or early 18th centuries and differing from the true first edition in small typographical and bibliographical points. Díaz del Castillo participated in some 120 battles during Cortés’s expedition through Mexico and Central America and was an eyewitness to the conquest of the Aztecs, from 1519 to 1521. In 1524, he accompanied Cortés on the expedition to Honduras. He wrote this work between 1552 and 1557 to refute the previously published narrative of the conquest by López de Gómara, Chaplain of the Cortés expedition. Sabin 19978 (as first edition, first issue); Obadiah Rich, Catalogue of Books Relating Principally to America, 200; see Carlos Fernández González, “Análisis tipográfico de las dos primeras ediciones de la Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España de Bernal Díaz del Castillo,” in Boletín De La Real Academia Española, July-Dec. 2011 (state B, pp. 8-10).
Folio (270 x 194mm). Ornamental title border, woodcut initials and ornaments (title remargined; 155 x 63mm corner section of leaf 35 torn, with loss of portions of 24 lines of text, here provided in tipped-in typed facsimile; some scattered light spotting; light dampstains and repaired worm tracks on inner margin of several leaves at end). 19th century mottled sheep, red morocco titling piece (upper headcap worn, spine and covers lightly rubbed; corners of back flyleaf torn). Provenance: Joaquín Cortina Goribar (1906-1991, Mexican historian; bookplate).
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
---|---|---|
Preview |
| |
Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
Frequently asked questions
First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.