Prescott, William H. History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a preliminary view of the Ancient Mexican Civilization, and the Life of the Conqueror, Hernando Cortez (3 volume set). New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853. Twenty-second Edition. [11093]
Three volumes in black publisher's cloth, blind stamped boards, gilt to spines. 9 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches, all volumes tight. Vol. I. - Portrait of Cortez, xxxiv, double plate map (foxed), 488 pages, light foxing in the text. Vol. II. Portrait of Montezuma II, xviii, double plate map (foxed), 480 pages, light foxing in the text. Vol. III. - Portrait of Hernan Cortez, xviii, facsimile plate of Cortez's signature, 524 pages, infrequent light foxing, last free end paper (blank) torn with some loss at the top edge. Very good. Hardcover.
William Hickling Prescott (1796-1859), widely recognized by historiographers to be the first American scientific historian. Prescott was one of the most eminent historians of 19th century America.
"Prescott’s achievements as a historian and as a literary artist were remarkable. For example, the persistent demand for the Conquest of Mexico has resulted in its publication in 10 languages at least 200 times and that of the Conquest of Peru in 11 languages at least 160 times. He was the first English-speaking historian to reach a wide audience outside the Hispanic world with a history expressing the Spanish point of view. Spaniards, in Prescott’s histories, were often forerunners of progress." - Britannica online.
