The History of the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards.
Translated from the Original Spanish of Don Antonio de Solis, Secretary and Historiographer to His Catholick Majesty, By Thomas Townsend, Esq;
The whole Translation Revised and Corrected by Nathanael Hooke, Esq.
London: printed for H. Lintot, J. Whiston and others, 1753.
Third English edition, after those of 1724 and 1738. Two octavo volumes (the pages 198 x 120 mm). Contemporary speckled calf, covers framed with double gilt rules, spines gilt in six compartments with raised bands, the second and third with red title and maroon volume pieces, the others with floral decoration between double rules, cover edges tooled, all edges dyed carmine, plain endpapers of same stock as book blocks. Folding engraved portrait frontispiece of Cortés by George Vertue after a painting by Titian and four further folding engraved plates and two folding engraved maps, vol. 1; two folding engraved plates, vol. 2. Two-page advertisement preceding title of vol. 2. Armorial bookplate of John Ward and small engraved bookplate of Wolfgang A. Herz of front pastedown of each volume. Collates vol. 1: [1 l.], 1 l. (title), pp. [iii]-xvi, 1-384, [1 l.], plus seven plates tipped in; vol. 2: [1 l.], 1 l. (2 pp. advertisement), 1 l. (title), p. iii-x, 1-386, [1 l.], plus two plates tipped in. Separations on front joint vol. 1 at top of spine and in sixth compartment, bottom spine vol. 1 and lower left corner vol. 2 bumped with some carry-over bumping in text blocks, light wear at lower corners of covers; minor dampstaining on lower corners of quires Aa and Bb in vol. 2, binder’s offsetting on margins of endpapers, some age toning and infrequent inconsequential edge staining throughout; the contemporary bindings overall very good, the text blocks overall bright and strong, the plates in excellent state of preservation.
Third edition in English of de Solis’s historical account of the three years between the appointment of Cortés as commander of the invading Spanish forces and the fall of Mexico City, first published in Spanish in Mexico in 1684. The work proved to be extremely popular, with translations into French in 1691, Italian in 1699, and English in 1724. Hooke's revision of Townsend's English translation was first published in 1738. The plates, five of which bear the dates 1723 and 1724, are the same plates as in the 1724 edition, with penned corrections indicating the revised page positioning. They illustrate, inter alia, views of Mexico City, Cortés meeting King Montezuma II, and King Guatimozin being captured by García Holguin. Sabin 86491.
The engraved armorial bookplate of John Ward (arms, azure a cross flory or; crest, a wolf's head erased proper langued gules) may indicate Sir John Ward of Squerryes Court, Westerham (1721-1775), grandson and son of the John Wards of the same name, the grandfather being the Lord Mayor of London in 1718.
Provenance: John Ward; Wolfgang A. Herz.
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Price: $875
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