Extremely rare first edition of the first work on horsemanship written in Mexico and the Americas by an American born; it is apparently also the first work of a non-religious subject to be published written by a person born in Mexico.
Suárez de Peralta was a historian and horseman known as el Mozo (Mexico, New Spain, 1541 – Madrid, 1613), son of Juan Suárez Marcaida, conqueror Cuba and Mexico, and companion to Cortes (his sister was in fact the first wife of Cortes). Juan Suarez de Peralta became well known for his writing on horsemanship, equestrian science and the gineta (the particular Spanish riding style). He also wrote the Tratado del Descubrimiento de las Indias y su Conquista and the Conjuracion de Martin Cortes, the first of which remained unpublished until the late 19th century.
Suárez de Peralta was a proficient rider, he dedicated himself to the breeding of fine horses in Tacubaya (Mexico), where he acquired the practical knowledge on horse veterinary, thus becoming also one of the first veterinaries to be born in American territory.
Two engraved coat of arms, on verso of folios 2 and 3 of the Count of Niebla and Marquis of Caçaça to whom the work is dedicated and of the author.
Exceptionally rare, according to OCLC we locate a single copy in the United States, at Harvard, other copies at the BNE, BNF, and Biblioteca Casanatense; further, we locate 5 other copies in Spanish institutions.
Palau, 324039; Escudero, 702; Medina, J.T. Bib. hispano-americana, I, 264
