Historia de la conquista de Mexico, poblacion, y progressos de la America Septentrional. . .

Barcelona: Joseph Llopis, 1691. SECOND EDITION. Title in red and black within woodcut border, large engraved vignette above the dedication. Contemporary vellum; some waterstaining, otherwise a wonderful copy with numerous contemporary annotations and ownership signatures; bookplate of James Whiteford Dunham. Second edition of this important source of information and material related to the conquest of Mexico by Cortés. De Solis (1610-1686), originally a dramatist who became Secretary of State to Philip IV, chronicles the years between the appointment of Cortés to command the invading Spanish army and the fall of Mexico City. He includes a discussion of the relationship between Cortés and Montezuma, as well as details of the lives of the native population. It offers an insight into the slaughter of the Indians of Mexico by the Spaniards, highlighting the courage of the invaders as they decimate the "savage" natives.

This second edition is of the utmost scarcity, the first having been printed seven years earlier. The popularity of this work was supported by numerous editions in many languages over nearly a three hundred year period.