Description of the West Indies
Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30
HERRERA Y TORDESILLAS, Antonio de (1559-1625). Descripción de las Indias Ocidentales. Madrid: Oficina Real de Nicolas Rodríguez Franco, 1726-30.

Second and best edition, complete with all maps and extensive index, of one of the most comprehensive early histories of the Spanish colonies. Herrera never traveled to the Americas, but he had full access to private Spanish archives and drew upon manuscript sources which are no longer extant. Originally published in Madrid in 1601, the present edition is considered the second edition by some bibliographers and the third by others, who refer to the Antwerp edition of 1728 as the second edition. An English translation appeared in 1725; German, French, and Latin translations were also published. The main engraved title on this copy is dated 1730, but many of the engraved section titles are dated 1726 or 1727. JCB 3:450; Medina 2580; Sabin 31546.

Eight parts in four volumes, folio (296 x 203mm). Engraved title and eight engraved section titles, copied from the title pages of the original 1601-15 Madrid edition; engraved head-pieces; 14 engraved maps in vol. 1, of which 12 are double-page and two folding (light marginal wear and spotting on title; marginal repairs on title for section 2; repaired corner on title for section 4; light dampstaining at beginning of vol. 3 and occasionally thereafter). 19th-century mottled sheep (boards and corners lightly rubbed; Zambrano library label on back pastedowns). Provenance: Librería Cervantes de José Ma. Serrano, Montevideo (bookseller’s tickets on front pastedowns).