Bibliothèque Américaine ou Catalogue des ouvrages relatifs a l'Amérique qui ont paru despuis sa Découverte jusqu'a l'an 1700

8vo.  210 x 130 mm., [8 ¼ x 5 inches].  viii, 191 pp.  Bound in contemporary leather backed marbled paper covered boards; spine gilt with floral patterns and author and title; joints rubbed but sound and attractive.  Nicely printed by Paul Renouard, rue Garancière, 5. Paris.

First edition.  Important reference work on the discovery and development of the New World, based on a collection that the author built while on a diplomatic mission to Brazil.  The catalogue begins with descriptions of four  editions of the Columbus Letter (1493-94), letters of Vespucci, government documents from Spain and Portugal dealing with the discovery, various works of cosmography that were published in the first decade of the 16th century, and hundreds of works of voyages and discovery printed before 1799,  In all the catalogue lists 1153 titles, many with lengthy annotations and reference. 

Ternaux-Compans, Henri (1807-1864) .entered the diplomatic service after university and was sent to consulates in Lisbon and Madrid and then to Brazil. After leaving the service he stayed in South America and began doing research on the history of discovery and the development of Central and South America.  In addition to this catalogue, he was the author of a catalogue of his books and manuscripts, using the surname Raetzel as a pseudonym (1836).  In addition, he published works on colonial documents in the Mexican State Library, a history of Guyana, and a work on the history of Spanish possessions in South American based on documents in the various state libraries (1840).  Ternaux was one of the earliest French bibliographers to practice his skills on the written legacy of discovery and Spain and Portugal's impact on the New World.  His work is recognized universally for its focus on primary documents.