Sep 24, 2020 - Sale 2546

Sale 2546 - Lot 271

Price Realized: $ 2,750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(MEXICAN IMPRINT--1606.) Enrico Martínez. Repertorio de los tiempos, y historia natural desta Nueva Espana. Illustration of sphere facing page 1. [16 of 24], ["277"] pages (erratically paginated). 4to, 19th century mottled calf gilt, minor wear; lacking front free endpaper, contents worn with various tears and clumsy repairs, lacking at least 3 preliminary leaves and 2 final leaves (some with manuscript facsimile replacements), intermittent dampstaining, other flaws; inked ex-libris stamp of José Fernando Ramírez on title page, modern "ex antiquis" bookplate on front pastedown. Mexico: [Enrico Martínez], 1606

Additional Details

First edition. An important early work of astronomy and natural history. The author Enrico Martinez (died 1632) was a printer (he produced his own book), possibly born in France or Germany. He is best known as the engineer who oversaw the drainage of the valley of Mexico City from 1697 to 1609. We find no reliable collation of this curious volume. A rare and important book, though the condition is far from ideal. Andrade 4125 ('an excessively rare book of which only a few are known'); Medina, Mexico 228; Palau 154297; Sabin 44952. 3 copies traced in OCLC, and none known at auction since 1926.