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Details
ACOSTA, José de (ca. 1539-1600). Historia natural y moral de las Indias. Seville: Juan de Leon, 1590. 4° (195 x 140mm). Woodcut device on title and final leaf. (Some repairs to title, final leaf and another few leaves, occasional light soiling.) Purple morocco by Brugalla, 1943, gilt supralibros, gilt spine-lettering, turn-ins and edges. Provenance: purchased from José Porter, 1941.
FIRST EDITION IN CASTILIAN. The first two books are a translation of the Latin edition, but the other five were here printed for the first time. 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 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'; Hogwego A7; Sabin 121; Palau I, 1980.
FIRST EDITION IN CASTILIAN. The first two books are a translation of the Latin edition, but the other five were here printed for the first time. 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 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'; Hogwego A7; Sabin 121; Palau I, 1980.