GONZALEZ DE MENDOZA (Juan). [Histoire du Grand Royaume de la - Lot 84

GONZALEZ DE MENDOZA (Juan). [Histoire du Grand Royaume de la Chine, situé aux Indes orientales, divisée en deux parties]. Paris, Chez Abel l'Angelier, 1600. In-8, (24)-308-(47) p., contemporary glazed havana calf, spine ribbed, red edges, headbands and corners restored (marginal spotting, title page lacking). Rare edition by Abel L'Angelier. The first French edition appeared in 1588, with Jeremie Perier, translated by Luc de La Porte from the Spanish original of 1585. Juan Gonçalez de Mendoça (1540-1617) was sent on an embassy by Philip II, with the mission of gathering precise documents on the country; he was unable to penetrate China, but spent three years gathering first-hand information on the empire, basing his important description largely on the accounts of the few missionaries who had preceded him since 1575, whose journeys he recounts: Miguel de Luarca, Martin de Rada and Jeronimo Marin. Several chapters are devoted to America and the West Indies, with in particular an account of the voyage made in 1584 by Fr. Martin Ignacio to China via the West Indies, Mexico and the Philippines, giving important details on these regions and in particular on the recent discovery of New Mexico by Antonio de Espejo (1583). Title page replaced by a manuscript version. (Cordier, Sinica I, 13).