Regnault

1600 · Best.-Nr. 032381 — Paris: Marc Orry 1600 A good copy of the 2nd French edition of Joseph Acosta's important work on the New World first published in Spanish in 1590. Acosta was a Jesuit who spent 17 years in South America and Mexico. His work based on careful observation formed one of the first accounts of the New World. This copy is in probably contemporary full vellum binding with yapp edges. The original ties have gone. It is difficult to say if the binding was hard or soft cover because at some point in its history it has had an old stiff embossed wallpaper with gilt birds and flowers used to form new endpapers. There are no pages before the title page which has had a strip added at the bottom and which is coming loose. Contents: title page; dedication pp ii-iv; advert; poems 4pp; Extrait du Privilege du Roi 1p; Text in 7 books pp 1-375; table of contents 34 pp. The text pages are numbered on the recto only. With decorative head pieces and initial capitals. The text is very clean with just the occasional mark and some light underlining at p 238 but p 58 is missing. P 31 is mispaginated as p 13; p 267 is un-numbered and p 97 is very thin with a hole in the bottom margin. The final third of the book is quite difficult to open fully - probably because of the way the endpapers have been added. Marc Orry hardcover