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Exceptional manuscript on a relatively little known work by Llull.

A finely executed, early 15th century manuscript of the great proverb collection assembled by the philosopher and theologian Ramon Llull (ca. 1232-1315).

A book for eternity

Unique prayer book manuscript on vellum, containing sixteen full-page illuminated engravings after Marten de Vos: a highly expressive devotional work of the waning 16th century. One of only eight known manuscripts by Hieronymus Oertl, it provides a “unique example of the art of book arts around 1600” (Baeyer, p. 6), highlighting the transitory period between the Middle Ages and the Baroque, between manuscript and printed book.

Art and Evidence: Unique 18th-Century Watercolors of the Deepest Amazon by the Boundary Commissioner in charge of the Spanish Survey party: Drama and Adversity in the Luso-Hispanic Borderlands of Colonial South America

A collection of five stunning and previously unknown watercolors illustrating dramatic scenes from the joint Spanish-Portuguese boundary commission sent to demarcate the frontiers of the Amazon following the 1777 Treaty of San Ildefonso between Portugal and Spain.

Early edition of Sir Mandeville’s landmark work

An Italian vernacular edition of the Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the fundamental travel book, first best-seller in the genre, and a text which greatly influenced the course of subsequent exploration. One of the most popular texts of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, taking the reader to the Holy Land, Egypt, Turkey, Persia, Tartary, India and Cathay, its influence was profound and persisted well into the era of printing and the age that saw the Western discoveries of the New World and the sea routes to Asia.

Unrecorded celestial atlas, made by a Jesuit missionary in China.

An unrecorded manuscript celestial atlas from the Sui dynasty, edited with an extensive commentary by the early 18th century Jesuit astronomer Antoine Gaubil, hailed by Joseph Needham as the “the interpreter general and father superior of Chinese astronomy”, of which this manuscript gives impressive evidence. The manuscript contains an unpublished translation of the “Bu Tian Ge” (a.k.a. “Songs of pacing the heavens” or “The song of the marches of the heavens”), a Sui dynasty (581-618 CE) star catalogue in verse by the Taoist hermit Dan Yuanzi, also known as Wang Ximing. Beyond the text of the star catalogue, Gaubil provides his ink- drawn copies of 31-star charts, including a fold-out celestial map of the north polar region. Gaubil provides an extensive commentary on the text, and a tabular catalogue of Chinese stars that allows us to determine the corresponding European stars based on their distance from the North Pole.

First Spanish translation of the Origin of Species, extremely rare, first edition to include two letters by Darwin

Rare first Spanish edition -and first translation into Spanish- of one of the most significant and meaningful works of science ever published, the Origin of Species; this translation with two letters by Darwin not published anywhere else: “the most important single work in science” (Dibner); “a turning point, not only in the history of science, but in the history of ideas in general” (DSB). Published in 1877, almost 20 years after the first saw light in London, the reason for the delay was -most likely- the strong influence the. Church had still in most Spanish-speaking countries, in direct relation with the contradiction between Darwin’s theory and Church teachings (evolution from an animal as opposed to creationism).

Fascinating album of mid-19th century drawings of South America, the Pacific, Tahiti.

Important original drawings from a French expedition to South America and Oceania (Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Tahiti, Honolulu, Kamchatka, Mexico, etc.) by Kerret, taken whilst acting as draughtsman of the Frigate La Forte, comprised of 62 full-page drawings, a third colored or heightened in white, portraying a variety of subjects, but mostly city and village views, market scenes, streets and tradesmen, important squares, etc., overall, a rich iconographic record of an important expedition.

Superb Album of fine Chinese watercolors of Natural History, Musical Instruments, and Costumes.

A remarkable album of 169 Chinese delicate and finely executed watercolors, evidently put together following an important commission during a period of vigorous trade with Europeans, dating to a time when Chinese goods were in high demand.

Rare Portuguese colonial account of the Mato-Grosso in Brazil

First and only edition of this rare account of a travel to the Mato-Grosso, by an unknown author who Borba believes to have been real. The region the account deals with is the current State of Mato Grosso, today mostly covered with Amazon rainforest, wetlands and savanna plains.

Striking English engraving of the 17th century warship the “Sovereign of the Seas”, the largest English print of the first half of the century

Huge and truly magnificent English engraving of the first half of the 17th century, “by far the largest English engraving to survive from the first half of the century (five other impressions are known)” (British Museum comment of the curator).

The Inquisition in Mexico: ships inspected at the ports of America for forbidden books

Extraordinarily rare and relevant document from the Mexican Inquisition forbidding the entry of books amongst other objects into the Viceroyalty of New Spain, this time not merely addressing the population but ordering the checking of the ships arriving at the port. This is one of two editions of presumably the same year, this one unknown in any other example and the other known in a single example, at the JCB.

"Nata in Arabia": The Phoenix in Tasso's own hand

A great rarity: an autograph fair copy of Tasso's poem "La Fenice", published twelve years after Tasso's death as part of his great, posthumous "Sette Giornate del Mondo Creato" (and subsequently included as a separate poem in his "Rime"). In this long poem, Tasso celebrates the glorious Arabian-born bird as created by God to symbolize His only son, and the resurrection of the Christ.

The Dyson Perrins-Hermann Marx copy of the Ars Moriendi.

Fascinating illustrated incunable Ars Moriendi, or Art of Dying, with a wonderful and rarely seen striking set of woodcuts, a medieval best seller, and one of the great themes of medieval life, inspired in the woodblock books. As with all early editions, this edition is rare. This is a very fine, nearly uncut copy of the Ars Moriendi, which comes from two of the greatest English libraries of the 20th century.

To the memory of a formerly enslaved woman, freed by her mistress

A tablet of marble engraved with five lines within a double-rule border, commemorating the dedication of a funerary urn to Quirina Felicula, who had been born a slave and was freed by her mistress. The plaque reads, in full: "Quiriniae [mulieris] l[ibertae] / Feliclae / ollam dat / C[aius] Valerius / Pylodamus", that is to say: "Gaius Valerius Pylodamus (= Philodamus?) dedicated this burial urn for the freedwoman Quirinia Felicla (= Felicula)".

Extraordinary and monumental French medieval manuscript on vellum Life of Christ by Ludolph of Saxony, with other texts, including some by Jean Gerson

An exceptional large medieval manuscript on vellum, extending over 5 volumes, containing Saxony´s powerful and influential Life of Christ, with other texts, coming to us with an exceptional medieval provenance, and later in the collections of three prominent 19th century English booksellers and collectors (including Sir Thomas Phillips). The Vita Christi occupies roughly 90% of the 5 volumes, it is one of the most important works of literature of the Christian world.

First edition of St. Augustine’s Letters.

Editio princeps of Saint Augustin’s influential collection of Letters, of significant historical and theological importance, instrumental in shaping the relationship between church and state and in arguing for a universal church against local particularism; his Letters are, along with the Civitate Dei and the Confessions (of which it later becomes a part of), the most important writings of Saint Augustine.

One of the most magnificent works published on the antiquities of Mexico.

First edition of one of the greatest illustrated works on Mexican antiquities and their conspiracy theories, and a monumental privately funded publication.

Great woodcut art from the time of Durer: a collection of two splendid illustrated books and a historical work.

Rare first editions of Pinder and von Kaysersberg’s remarkable illustrated works, along with Coccius Sabellicus’ Hebrew history, all housed in the contemporary binding, and in exceptional condition.

Probably the smallest medieval miniature manuscript recorded

Exceptional medieval minuscule manuscript, one of the smallest known of the Middle Ages, and perhaps the smallest known today compared to the other minuscule manuscripts that have been catalogued so far; this kind of minuscule manuscripts, which were often held in reliquiaries, have been largely destroyed and are thus of extreme rarity today. This survival offers a unique chance to examine an extraordinarily rare side of manuscript production of the Middle Ages.

Fine drawing of a Toucan and a Woodpecker made by the last Spanish Governor of Paraguay during his visit to Brazil in the beginning of the 19th century

Attractive drawing by Bernardo de Velasco, and who was the last governor of the province of Paraguay, made presumably during his voyage to Paraguay passing through Brazil, specifically the Island of Santa Caterina, where he portrayed a Toucan and the very local bird Picapau, or woodpecker.

Sole copy known.

Sole example known, a beautiful, if crude, woodcut portraying Saint Augustin and Saint Bridget, which leads us to believe it was created in or for a Bridgettine Monastery. The depiction is a free copy after an engraving by the so-called Master of the Berlin Passion. Schreiber assumes that it was created in a Dutch or Flemish Bridgettine monastery around 1480-1500.

One of the earliest Chronicles by a Mexican native, the manuscript from the libraries of Viscount Kingsborough and Phillipps

Fascinating manuscript copy of Tezozomoc’s chronicle of Mexico, a descendant of Moctezuma, one of the first members of the Mexican native population to write an account of their own people and to be educated at the Imperial Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco.

Rare and dramatic image of the Holy Shroud of Turin with explanatory text.

Fine and vivid print depicting the Holy Shroud or Shroud of Turin, the image is composed of several woodcuts in black ink, with the image of the Shroud in red ink; this is apparently the only known copy, state unknown. The image conveys a sentiment of veneration towards the relic, which is accompanied by an oration, and small portraits of the Savoy family to whom it belonged.

Pre-Gutenberg Chinese printing and silk weaving: a consecutive set of five volumes of the Garland Sutra in original brocade bindings

An extremely early Chinese block-printed suite of the Garland Sutra, beautifully preserved in the original, museum-quality medieval brocade bindings: an outstanding and near-unique example of Buddhist culture and the Chinese art of silk weaving as well as printing in the earliest decades of the 15th century.

The legend of the Swiss Saint Meinrad and the foundation of Einsiedeln Abbey.

First Latin edition, this small incunable contains the account of the life and martyrdom of St. Meinrad of Einsiedeln, illustrated with 21 fine, large woodcuts. Sebastian Brant's rare Latin edition is based on a 12th century manuscript.

Bound in contemporary Spanish Mudejar bindings, one of the first Spanish works to adhere to the Ptolemaic geographical vision of the World, used by 15th century explorers such as Columbus

First edition of a cosmographically-relevant Spanish work, apparently the first published in Spain to adhere to the Ptolemaic theory of the world, printed at the first press established Valencia (Spain), in a fascinating strictly contemporary Spanish “Mudejar” style binding.

The first book with a printed visual alphabet and the first illustration of a chess board

First edition and first issue of this illustrated epitome of the rhetorical arts, representing the first memory treatise to appear in print, the first book containing a printed visual alphabet and the first work to show a printed illustration of a chess board: this woodcut identifies this copy as the extremely rare first issue of the edition, being printed on l. d8r – blank in the second issue, as in most other surviving copies.

“The first illustrated book of travel ever printed” (Fairfax Murray), the first artist’s book, and the first printed travel report of the Middle East.

Fabulous example, complete with all the folding views and in a contemporary binding, of one of the most famous illustrated incunables, Breydenbach’s is the first work ever to feature folding plates and the first illustrated travel book, it is also the first time an Arabic alphabet appears; this is the first edition printed by Peter Drach, and is illustrated with the original engravings of the Mainz edition, this is the second Latin edition.

Exceptional early Vitas Patrum, with a set of 275 woodcut illustrations in contemporary color, here used for the time for this work

The first edition with this illustration cycle, each woodcut in vibrant contemporary coloring, of this influential early work on the lives of the Saints of Christendom; second German edition overall.

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.”

First edition, first printing of McCarthy’s brutal, unsentimental and beautiful portrayal of the Wild West, in the original dustjacket.

Remarkable work by Miro in the original binding.

Remarkable illustrated work by Miro, number 105 from 220, signed Miro in pencil, with the complete suite of 33 original color etching (in and hors-text) for the ´Canticle of the Sun´ by Saint Francis of Assisi, in excellent condition. The Cantic del Sol, or song to the Sun is an admired production by Miro.

Groundbreaking Mexican artistic and science fiction magazine, the first of its kind.

First and only editions of the first and second issues - the only issues published - of this extraordinary Mexican artistic and science fiction magazine, exceptionally rare.

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

First edition, first impression of Animal Farm, one of the greatest satires of the English language, in the original dustjacket.

“Few things are sadder than the truly monstrous.”

First edition, first printing of West’s great Hollywood novel, in the original dustjacket.

Exceptional set of 18th century woodblocks for a complete deck of Tarot cards.

A remarkable set of the four woodblocks used to print a deck of Tarot Cards, in Italian style, composed of 10 numbered cards (some with their value in Roman numerals) and 4 figures (identified at bottom). The trump cards, 0-21, also have their identification at the bottom (except the one corresponding to the 'death', as usual) and the numbering corresponding to each card at the top, also in Roman numerals (except for the madman, 'Le Fou', considered the precedent of the joker, which is unnumbered).

First American edition of the first of Dostoevsky’s books to be translated into English, a fictionalized account of imprisonment in a Siberian labor camp.

First American edition of one of Dostoevsky’s most universally-recognized works, The House of the Dead (also known as Notes from the Dead House). The novel is a fictionalized account of his imprisonment in a Siberian labor camp. After his mock execution in December 1849, Dostoevsky was sentenced to four years imprisonment at Omsk in western Siberia. Drawing from his experience, the novel portrays the lives of convicts in a Siberian prison camp through a loosely-knit collection of descriptions, events and philosophical discussions, organized around themes and characters rather than plot.

The earliest publication of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in book form.

First edition of Lincoln's immortal "Gettysburg Address" in book form, preceded only by newspaper printings and a rare 16-page pamphlet printed for the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle (printed c. 23-24 November 1863).

First edition of Goya´s masterful artistic depiction of War, universalizing the theme like never before had been done.

Melville’s greatest work

First US edition of Melville's greatest work, in the first issue binding (BAL's "A" state, with the publisher's device on the covers and orange endpapers). The US edition was the first to bear the title Moby Dick and contains 35 passages and the epilogue by Richard Bentley, the British editor, omitted from the slightly earlier British edition. Red cloth is the rarest of the first issue binding colours, and more sought after that the more common blue examples.

One of the finest color plate books ever produced, illustrating the country in the turmoil following the struggle for Independence.

One of the rarest and most beautiful views of Mexico from the 19th century, also considered one of the finest color-plate books ever produced, showing gorgeous scenes of the Valley of Mexico, without the slightest evidence of the ongoing political turmoil plaguing the country in the aftermath of the war of Independence. The plates are made after the paintings of a key early British painter of Mexico, Daniel Thomas Egerton, one of the original members of the Royal Society of British Artists. Egerton´s life contemporary to the publication of this set of views was submersed in intrigue and catastrophe, ending in his assassination. He was amongst the first foreign artists to enter Mexico, which borders were essentially closed to non-Spanish artists throughout the Viceregal period.

A French Tour of the United States and its Prisons in 1837, Tocqueville’s successor.

Blouet´s unpublished and unofficial autograph journal describing a tour in the United States in the winter of 1837, designed to study the United States’ renowned penitentiary system, organized by the French government in the wake of Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont’s similar seminal mission a few years earlier in 1831 and predates Charles Dickens’ tour in 1842, signed and dated, of which no other copies have been found. The manuscript is joined by a letter from John Haviland to Blouet, in which Haviland shows his appreciation to Blouet for sending his publication and also to inform Blouet of some of the modifications he had recently made to improve penitentiary architecture.

First edition of Goya´s magnificent Tauromaquia, with a marvelous provenance.

First edition, the rarest of Goya's suites of plates, created between 1814 and 1816 and focusing on the drama involved in bullfighting, and a noteworthy copy, owned by one of the most important figures of the art world of Spain of the first half of the 19th century and one of the first Goya admirers, Valentin Carderera, who here presents it as a gift to another relevant figure of Europe´s cultural world, Theophile Gautier, one of Goya's first admirers in France.

Splendid wall map of Mexico City, printed in Mexico; extremely rare first edition.

Fine nine-sheet plan of Mexico City surveyed by Diego Garcia Conde and compiled by some of Mexico's most important engravers and artists. It was published in Mexico City in 1807. This is a rare first edition, of which very few examples survive.

“Unsurpassed in Importance” (Lada-Mocarski), one of the most influential Spanish voyages to the Pacific and Northwest Coast.

First edition, an important and rare account of Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast of North America and the Pacific, illustrated with an atlas comprising 9 maps and 8 engraved plates of the local costumes and native population, “Unsurpassed in Importance” (Lada-Mocarski).

Magnificent copy with early impressions of the first edition of Goya´s masterpiece, in a contemporary binding.

A superb set of the first edition of Goya's greatest series of engravings, an early copy printed shortly after the scratch occurred to engraving 45, bound in contemporary Spanish calf and with excellent impressions of the prints. From the edition limited to approximately 300 copies (see Harris).

English large 18th century engraving showing of the "Hamburg Temple Model"

Striking example of English 18th century print making, this is John Evan's edition of Gerhard Schott's remarkable three-dimensional model of Solomon's Temple, which has come to be known as the Hamburg Temple Model.

A magnificent and early wall map of Mexico City

Arguably amongst the most magnificent maps of Mexico City, containing cartographical information of privileged access, and to our knowledge, the first Spanish printed map of such dimensions of the Viceroyalty´s Capital City.

A plan of Rio de Janeiro by the Comte de Breteuil, the last prime minister of pre-revolutionary France, together with one of the earliest manuscript prospects of the city.

Louis Charles Auguste le Tonnelier, baron de Breteuil, baron de Preuilly (1730-1807) was a French aristocrat, diplomat, statesman and politician. He was the last Prime Minister of the Bourbon Monarchy, appointed by King Louis XVI only one hundred hours before the storming of the Bastille.

Including the famous Ange Anatomique, the chef-d'oeuvre of Gautier, first edition, a deluxe copy.

First edition, considered the chef-d’oeuvre of Gautier, one of the grandest anatomical books published in the 18th century, illustrated with 20 visually arresting large plates including what the Surrealists called the Anatomical Angel, representing the muscles of the face, neck and throat, torso, and extremities, each accompanied by an explanatory text by Duverney (who worked with dissected cadavers), the anatomy lecturer from the Jardin du Roi.

The famous illustrated incunable Bible by Koberger, one of the most beautiful Bibles produced in the 15th century

Koberger´s famous and influential illustrated Bible, with hand-coloured woodcuts and initials, a fabulous publication containing 109 large woodcuts, and the first printed in Nuremberg. This edition is also known as the ninth edition of the Bible in German, one of the most important illustrated incunabular Bible editions. This edition influenced, amongst others, Durer´s Apocalypse, also published by Koberger. The succeeding five editions of the German Bible depend textually on this Koberger edition.

Magnificent work on the Dutch colony of Brazil, the folio edition, complete with all plates and maps

First edition, the most famous book published on Brazil of the 17th century, illustrated with double page and folding views of Brazilian ports, cities and maps by Blaeu, all inspired in the illustration of Franz Post, who accompanied Nassau on his trip to Brazil. This is the folio edition, coveted by collectors over the small and far more common 8vo edition.

First edition of the Arte de Ingenio.

First edition, very rare, one of the most important productions of the Golden Century of Spanish literature, and an influential work in world literature, specifically on literary aesthetics, and certainly the crowning jewel of Gracian´s ouevre. An unusually fine copy of a book that, when found, is usually in terrible condition or simply incomplete.

The Most Important Map of North America Published in England in the Seventeenth Century.

Fine example of Henry Briggs’ famous map of North America, one of the most important and influential printed maps of the seventeenth century. It was included in Samuel Purchas’ voyage collection Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas his Pilgrimes, one of the most well-known travel books ever published in English.

First Edition, first issue of Smith's magnum opus, “The foundation of England’s knowledge of America” (PMM).

First edition, one of the most important of all the books written about the English colonization of the Americas, Captain Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia ranks as the greatest illustrated work on this period; it includes Smith's eye-witness observations of the founding of the English Colony at Jamestown, his capture by the King of the Pamaunkee, and rescue through the intercession of Pocahontas, occurred during his time spent in Virginia (1606-1609), and his exploration of New England (1610-1617). The Generall Historie is a major American primary source, incorporating much of his early writing as well as contemporary narratives by others.

Remarkable ensemble of Brussels editions of the Quijote

An exceptional ensemble of lifetime editions, pairing the first edition published outside of Spain of the second part (the second overall, published only months after the first), with an early edition of the first part, incorporating corrections to the text, published six years after the first.

The itinerary from Venice to Constantinople in pictures

Attractive copy of a highly illustrated itinerary from Venice to Constantinople, comprising 72 full-page maps, including many of Constantinople and also of Cyprus, Famagusta, Crete, Rhodes, Jerusalem and the Near East. Published several times in the first half of the 17th century, the subsequent editions contained a variable number of plates. The maps show cities and outposts along the Mediterranean, the Dalmatian coast and the Levant.

A rare Spanish account of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, unlocated in the United States.

Second edition, extremely rare, of the account of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1518 by the Marquis of Tarifa accompanied by Juan del Encina, one of the earliest Spanish accounts of a voyage to Middle East, and one of the rarest accounts of a Holy Land pilgrimage, an interesting addition to the corpus of better-known accounts of voyages of the Holy Land. The narrative details the journey through the south of Europe and the Middle East on the way to Jerusalem. During the trip, the Marquis contacted local noblemen, merchants, and acquired books for his library, including works by Boccaccio and Marco Polo. The book is extraordinarily rare, as is the first edition printed in 1580 in Lisbon, of which no copy is located in OCLC.

Willem Barentsz's Map of the Polar Regions, drawn from his observations during his third voyage of 1596-97 and engraved by Baptiste Van Deutecum.

The Barentsz map of the Polar Regions is a major landmark in Arctic cartography, depicting the details of his third voyage of 1596-7. After becoming stuck on the ice and being forced to winter in the Polar regions, Barentsz utilized his time to create an elaborate and highly decorative manuscript map depicting his observations.

The first description of the Escorial and its contents, by its architect.

First edition, first issue, extraordinarily rare, of the first description of the Escorial, by Juan de Herrera, the architect of what is widely regarded as the most impressive building created in Spain in the 16th century. A book of exceptional rarity, and importance, which gives us the architect´s feel of what his magnum opus is and looks like. Herrera was the author of a set of drawings on the Escorial which were engraved by Pedro Perret Perret (1555-1637).

First edition in Spanish of the first printed book on architecture, commented by Spanish architect Herrera.

The first edition of Leon Battista Alberti's 'De Re Aedificatoria' in Spanish, one of the most influential books on architecture, an appealing copy.

One of two known copies of a Lafreri-School set of 16th century maps of the Continents.

First edition with an almost unique set of maps of the Continents, different from almost every other copy known, except for a copy held in Spain. This copy contains a set of trapezoidal maps of the Continents.

The official Spanish handbook on precious metals employed in the American colonies.

First edition, extremely rare and influential, this was the official handbook on silver, gold, and precious metals, American bullion, and Spanish monetary policy, written by Spanish sculptor and goldsmith Juan de Arfe y Villafañe; signed at the end by the author, as usual.

First English edition of the first major science book printed in English.

First English edition of the “oldest mathematical textbook in the world still in common use today... the first substantial book to be printed with geometrical figures.” (PMM) and the first major science book printed in English; an influential translation, containing contributions by John Dee, and his famous Preface, widely regarded as his most important work. An unusually fine copy, preserving the large folding plate and the 37 diagrams with one or more overslips, the maximum possible count.

The finest example Cortes navigational treatise to come to the market in a century.

First edition, a fabulous copy with the woodcuts and maps in contemporary color and housed in 17th or 18th century calf, in genuine condition, of the “most complete statement of navigational science to date” (PMM), a work of significant influence in the English world, an English translation by Richard Edden appeared as early as 1561, becoming one of the most relevant navigational treatises used in the Elizabethan era. The work contains information about the recently discovered regions by the Spanish and the Portuguese in America and the East.

Fine copy of this intriguing work on the dance of death by Holbein, with a remarkable chain of provenance

One of two 1547 Latin editions, with woodcuts by Hans Lützelburger after Holbein, depicting Death in numerous entertaining scenes of contemporary life. Of the 53 woodcuts included in this edition, 41 are from the previous 1538 edition; one, the beggar, was added for the 1545 edition, and eleven are new subjects: Soldier, Gamblers, Drunkards, Fool, Robber, Blind man, Carter, and four woodcuts of children. The King, who is taken by death as he banquets, is here depicted as François I.

The first legislation addressed to the welfare of the Native Americans,
promulgated at the instances of Bishop Bartolome de Las Casas.

First edition, of pivotal transcendence, a work that altered the Spanish
position towards Native Americans and their relation with the
conquistadors, the first book dedicated solely to American Law and to
the betterment of the treatment of the indigenous population, including,
extraordinarily, an abolition cause. Of superlative rarity institutionally
and in the market.

The most important literary work produced in fifteenth century Spain.

Early Italian edition of the Celestina, surely the most remarkable works produced in 15th century Spain. It has enjoyed a huge, lasting influence; it is valued as one of the best examples of Spanish-language literature. A novel consisting of a series of dialogues that can also be read as a play, it has been staged as such.

Illustrated incunable Fable Book, with a fascinating contemporary English provenance.

Early illustrated fable-book with 121 popular fables in prose—some of which derive from Aesop—each accompanied by 121 woodcuts from 119 blocks; bound in is a recipe written in English from the second half of the 15th century. “One of the most disarming of early printed books” (Yale, University Gazette, 1968). First published in 1480 in Gouda, birthplace of Gerard Leeu (c.1450–1492), regarded as the most important printer of the Pays Bas and friends with Erasmus; the work was again printed by him, here already in its fifth edition (after those of Cologne, Stockholm, Lyon).

Fine photo album of Mexico and Cuba, along with a German cigar factory

Very fine, large original photographs with views of Mexico by Abel Briquet (1833-1926), a French photographer and owner of a studio in Paris, operating from the 1850s onwards.

Second and Third Cortes Letters of 1524 “a work of bedrock importance to the New World” (Reese).

This fine sammelband comprises the first Latin Editions of Cortes's 2nd and 3rd Letters, bound together in the early 17th century, along with Italian translations of Cortes's Second and Third Letters excerpted from Ramusio's 1606 Navigatione et Viaggi, and with Porcacchi's 1605 Isolario.

Canton, Macao & Hong Kong etc; the VOC Secret Atlas

The chart was made for and used by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) for navigation and trading, with a compass rose with rhumb lines, depth indications and other relevant navigational details. The chart show anchorage places and some individual buildings near the coast.