Prescott, William H. History of the the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain Volume I. Boston: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, 1859. Thirteenth Thousand. [11094]
Black publisher's cloth, blind stamped boards, gilt to spine. 9 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches, tight. Portrait of Philip the Second with tissue guard, 1859 signature top of title page in brown ink, xxxvi, double plate of facsimile handwriting, 618 clean pages. 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.
