Histoire naturelle et civile de la Californie
The earliest history of California.
A very fine copy of the History of California printed in Paris in 1767.
Increasingly sought-after first French edition adorned with an interesting folding map
3 volumes in-12 of: I/(13) ff., folding map, 360 pp.; II/ (4) ff., 375 pp.; III /(4) ff., 354 pp., king’s privilege. Marbled calf, ribbed and gilt spine, gilt fillet on edges, blue-tinted edges. Period binding.
164 x 95 mm.
Venegas-Burriel. Natural and civil history of California, containing an exact description of this country, its soil, lakes, rivers, its animals, plants, minerals and its famous pearl fishery; the customs of its inhabitants, their religion, government and way of life, a detailed account of the various journeys and attempts that have been made to enter it and to explore its gulf and the coast of the South Sea. Translated (from Mig. Venegas), by M. E. Paris, chez Durand, 1767.
First edition of the French translation of Venegas's work, one of the best early books on California. Folded map.
Howes V-69; Wagner, Spanish Southwest 132b; Hill 1769; Sabin 98843; Medina (BHA) IV, p.517; Streit, III: 838.
The work was widely disseminated during the decade following its publication through translations into English, French, Dutch and German. It remains one of the primary printed sources of the region's early colonial history.
« Michel Venegas, an 18th-century Spanish Jesuit, was a missionary in Mexico and California; after his death, a member of his order, P. André-Marc Burriel, collected his manuscripts, organized them, and published the history of P. Venegas under the following title: "Noticia de la California y de su conquista, etc.," Madrid, 1757, 3 vols. in-4to. This work was soon translated into English, and it is from this translation that the "Histoire Naturelle et civile de la Californie," translated by E. (Eidous), Paris, 1767, 3 vols. in-12mo, was published in French. This book includes little-known details about the mission's work and the customs of the inhabitants of California. It is followed by a supplement given by the Spanish publisher, containing extracts related to the same regions drawn from the histories and voyages of Gomara Viscaino, Jean de Torquemada, Woode Rogers and Anson. » (V-G-R).
Fine copy in contemporary binding of a highly sought-after book.
