A description of the Kingdom of New Spain by Sr. Don Pedro Alonso O'Crouley 1774, translated and edited by Seán Galvin [Idea comprendiosa del reyno de Nueva España]

San Francisco: John Howell--Books, 1972. First English Language Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/near fine. A near fine first English translation in a near fine dustjacket. Blue cloth boards with bright gilt title stamping on cover and spine. Sunning to endpaper edges, otherwise fine. Orange endpapers. Rear pocket map present and pristine. Jacket showing a bit of dust stains otherwise fine. Illustrations in black and white, with some in color. xviii, 148 pp. Quarto, 9 x 12 1/2 inches tall. O'Crouley's description of New Spain in the eighteenth century is a valuable contribution to scholarship, mostly unknown until the late twentieth century when it was published. The original manuscript comprises 202 leaves bound in red leather in the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid, Ms. 972.02. It was published in English in 1972, as A Description of the Kingdom of New Spain by Sr. Dn. Pedro Alonso O'Crouley 1774.Once published, it was widely reviewed in the scholarly literature. In 1975, it was published in a facsimile edition. For the English edition, the translator Galvin rearranged some of the text to produce a more readable work. One scholar criticized this, saying "This is a disservice to the text, since part of its overall significance as an 'enlightened' compendium resides precisely in its structure as a miscellany." -- WikipediaThe volume is richly illustrated. He drew native plants and flowers (cacao, vanilla, avocado, sapote, mamey, passion flower, and pricky pear cactus) as well as animals not known in Europe. What has gained most attention are his depictions of race mixture (castas), which have been published in works on that topic. O'Crouley provides written text for the illustrations, which were likely copies of existing casta groupings. He devotes an entire section of text to the condition of the Indians, lamenting their current state. Unlike many casta paintings that show scenes of imagined everyday life of the racial types, O'Crouley's lack any further context.[11]He wrote short descriptions of New Spain's principal cities, the capital Mexico City, the second largest city Puebla; Valladolid (now Morelia); Oaxaca; Guadalajara; Durango; Acapulco; and Veracruz. He travelled north to presidios of Los Adáes, in Texas; El Paso del Norte; and the province of Nayarit. His description of New Mexico is considerably longer than the places coming before it. Also lengthy is the chapter on his voyage up the Gulf of California; his description of California itself; and an expedition to Nueva Andalucía (Sinaloa and Sonora).