History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a preliminary view of the Ancient Mexican Civilization, and the Life of the Conqueror, Hernando Cortés

New York: Harper and Brothers, 1843. First American edition. Frontispiece portraits, signature facsimile, maps. 3 vols. 8vo. Original blind-stamped brown cloth, gilt lettering on spine. Fine in leather tipped black cloth slipcases with chemises. Bookplate of Blairhame. First American edition. Frontispiece portraits, signature facsimile, maps. 3 vols. 8vo. Fine First American Edition of The Classic. William Hickling Prescott was an American historian and Hispanist who specialized in Late Renaissance Spain and the early Spanish Empire. His work has had great impact on the study of both Spain and of Mesoamerica. He was known as an exhaustive, careful, and systematic historian with a lively writing style.

In this book, the History of the Conquest of Mexico, Prescott worked largely from primary sources to describe the Aztec civilization, having rejected most secondary sources as being too biased. He also notably rejected the popular supposition that pre-Columbian civilizations were non-indigenous. Instead Prescott assumed that the natives of Mexico had achieved the heights of Aztec civilization without outside, European influence.

This book was well received at the time of its publication despite Prescott's fears to the contrary, and was followed by other works on Mesoamerica, notably The Conquest of Peru. Sabin 65262, BAL 16340; GROLIER American 100, #51; Hill #1383