Simeon Piget

Second French edition bringing together these two texts by Garcilaso de la Vega first published in Spanish in 1650. Frontispiece depicting in the foreground the landing of Spanish troops on American territory and in the background the indigenous population besieged in the heart of a burning city. In the lower section, a banner bears the inscription "Quid non mortalia pectora cogis auri sacra fames", taken from Virgil's Aeneid and translated by Molière as "O execrable hunger for gold, to what lengths do you not force men's hearts to go". Work decorated with headpieces and historiated initials.
Contemporary full vellum binding, smooth spine decorated at head with a pen-and-ink title almost faded. One corner slightly bumped, title page skillfully restored at inner margin, pale dampstain to lower margin on final gatherings.
Bookplate of the Nordkirchen family pasted on front pastedown. Manuscript ownership inscription on title page with initials "E. H. L.".
Natural son of a conquistador and an Inca princess, raised in two different cultures, Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616) offers a unique vision of Inca civilization by rejecting a Euro-centric view. While in his Royal Commentary, first published in France in 1633, de la Vega traced the history of the Inca rulers, he here proposes an account of the conflicts that animated the Spanish colonists after their arrival in Peru. His aim is to convey the upheaval caused by these internecine wars, both for the indigenous people and for the Spanish. In his address to the reader, de la Vega explains that the Inca rulers had succeeded in founding an empire where "Moral, Political, & Military Virtues" reigned; the arrival of the colonists and the execution of Atahualpa - the last independent emperor - disrupts the established order and is seen as the expression of "Ambition" and "Avarice" of these "new Hosts". De la Vega presents these events in the form of a true epic, seeking to show the reader "the various effects in this History, wonderfully entertaining, & where the Author endeavors to make the principal ones among those who were the true Actors play their role on this Stage". A continuation of his first major work on the History of the Incas, Kings of Peru, the History of the Civil Wars of the Spanish in the Indies offers the reader a vast panorama of Peruvian history in the few years following the conquest.
Handsome copy of this work of major importance in the historiography of the Spanish conquest of Peru.

First edition, illustrated with an engraved title and 31 attractive full-page figures included in the pagination, as well as 2 headpieces, 2 initial letters and one tailpiece, all engraved by Le Doyen.
Full midnight blue morocco binding ca 1860 signed at bottom of front pastedown Belz-Niedrée. Jansenist raised bands spine with gilt title and date. Wide decorative gilt board-edges. Upper joint rubbed and spine darkened. Overall very fresh. 3-line slip pasted on p. 31 in the catalogue of canons' houses. Rubbing traces to corners and edges. Handsome copy.
Collection of religious costumes of European canons, preceded by a short historical dissertation.

VEGA Garcilaso de la
Histoire des guerres civiles des Espagnols dans les Indes, suivi de Suite des guerres civiles des Espagnols dans le Peru
Chez Simeon Piget, Paris 1658, in-4 (17 x 23,5 cm), (30 p.) 631 pp (15 p.) (17 p.) 555 pp (20 p.), 2 volumes bound in 1, contemporary vellum
Second French edition, bringing together these two texts by Garcilaso de la Vega, which first appeared in Spanish in 1650. Frontispiece title showing, in the foreground, the landing of Spanish troops in the Americas, and in the background the native population besieged in a burning town. In the lower portion, there is a banner with the inscription “Quid non mortalia pectora cogis auri sacra fames [O sacred hunger of pernicious gold!? What bands of faith can impious lucre hold?]”, taken from Virgil's Aeneid and translated by Molière as “Ô exécrable faim de l'or, jusques où ne forces-tu point de se porter le cœur des hommes”. With historiated initials and borders.
Contemporary vellum, spine with ink title to head, almost erased. One corner bumped, title skillfully repaired in inner margin, faint dampstain to lower margin of final gatherings.
Ex-libris of the Nordkirchen family laid down on front pastedown. Manuscript ex-libris to title with initials E. H. L.
The illegitimate child of a Conquistador and an Inca Princess, brought up in two different cultures, Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616) offers a unique look at Inca civilization by rejecting a Eurocentric view. While in his Commentaire royal, published for the first time in France in 1633, de la Vega covered the history of the Inca rulers, here he gives an account of the conflicts that faced the Spanish colonists after their arrival in Peru. He tries to communicate the upheaval caused by these internal conflicts, both for the indigenous population and for the Spanish. In his notice to the reader, de la Vega explains that the Inca rulers had in fact succeeded in establishing an empire where “the Moral, Political, and Military Virtues” reigned. The arrival of the colonists and the execution of Atahualpa – the last independent Emperor – upset the established order and were seen as an expression of the “Ambition” and “Avarice” of these “new Armies”. De la Vega presents these events in a truly epic format, looking to give the reader a sense of the “divers players in this History, wonderfully entrancing & in which the Author has learned the roles in this Scene from the very principles who were their real-life Actors.” A continuation of his first major work on the History of the Incas, Kings of Peru, the History of the Civil Wars of the Spanish in the Indies gives the reader a sweeping overview of Peruvian history in the years following the conquest.
A very good copy of this highly significant work in the historiography of the Spanish conquest of Peru.