El Orinoco Ilustrado, Y Defendido, Historia Natural, Civil, Y Geographica de Este Gran Rio, Y de Sus Caudalosas Vertientes: [...] Escrita por el Padre Joseph Gumilla [...] Segunda Impression, Revista, Y Augmentada por su mismo Autor, y dividida en dos Partes. En Madrid: por Manuel Fernandez, 1745.
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VERY RARE WITH NO COPIES HELD IN THE UK. WorldCat. Reference 1079983480 identifies 8 known copies across Spain, the US, and Canada, with reference 833640068 identifying a further 4 copies in Germany.
This is the second edition of Joseph Gumilla's classic history of the Orinoco region. He was the first to publish a comprehensive account of the Orinoco river and its area & natural history. It has a lovely foldout map and another plate as pictured. This copy is in its original full vellum binding and is correspondingly very scarce in any condition. This is part one only, of an original two.
"[Gumilla] travelled widely on the Middle Orinoco and had ascended to Apure, Arauca and Meta rivers, and in 1741 published what was the first descriptive account of the Orinoco and its tributaries. In this book Gumilla spoke bitterly of the slave traders who invaded his country" (Howgego, pp.464).
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Size: 167 x 202 mm (approx.)
Condition:
Contemporary full vellum binding with author and title written contemporaneously in ink to head of spine. Vellum binding discoloured and worn as typical, lacking original ties also as typical. A little separation from binding and page block with front pastedown detached. Some 19th century ink ownership inscriptions to title, without attached bookplates. Text block with very extensive wormholing throughout, mostly confined to margins, but in places causing text loss, generally without loss of sense to the text, but this does happen in places. Foldout map also with extensive wormholing. Text mildly toned but generally clean throughout. Uncollated but appears to be complete.
[OCLC 1079983480; 833640068; Sabin 29275].
