Histoire de la Decouverte et de la Conquete du Perou

Paris, 1716. Good plus.. Two volumes. 12mo. [40],360; [8],479pp., plus fourteen plates (two folding) and a folding map. Contemporary mottled calf, spines gilt with leather labels. Hinges cracked, spine ends moderately chipped. Light scattered foxing to text. An early French printing of this foundational and successful history of Peru, which went through numerous editions in a number of languages. Zarate arrived in Peru as part of the retinue of the first viceroy, serving there from 1543 to 1548. His work was first printed in the original Spanish in 1555, but did not appear in French translation until 1700. The first volume is illustrated with a sizable folding map and fourteen engraved plates, including the well-known depiction of the nattily dressed European gentleman, reclining on a raft-like cushion borne across a stream by two Indians.