Americana

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The development of Jefferson County by French immigrants connected to Revolution, including maps with city planning and hundreds of documents about land acquisition and the general context surrounding the creation of the city

An extraordinary record of land acquisition and development by French settlers in Jefferson County, New York, spanning an eighty-year period from the close of the eighteenth century to the 1870s.

Fascinating Mexican manuscript portraying 24 glyphs and the arms of the Count of Salvatierra, an example of the romanticization of the Aztec Empire in the 19th century

Exceptionally rare and truly striking Mexican illuminated manuscript on amate paper, a unique composition showing 24 glyphs surrounding a large coat of arms of Don Garcia Sarmiento de Sotomayor, conde de Salvatierra (viceroy of New Spain from 1642 to 1649), overall a truly fascinating example of the romanticization of the Aztec Empire in Mexico in the 19th century, and overall, the nascent nationalism and search for a cultural identity. It appears to confirm the control of Don Garcia Sarmiento de Sotomayor, 19th viceroy of Mexico, represented by his armorial bearings over the lands depicted in the surrounding glyphs.

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.