Lester, C. Edwards; Foster, Andrew. The Life and Voyages of Americus Vespucius; with Illustrations concerning the Navigator, and the Discovery of the New World. New Haven: Horace Mansfield, 1853. Fourth Edition. [11582]
Black blind stamped cloth, spine in elaborate gilt, some edge-wear, dark blotch base of spine that is probably from a removed label, 9 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches, tight. Cream end papers, small name stamps of previous owner on same, engraved frontispiece of Vespucius by Charles Burt, [i]-xviii, [2], [21]-431, [1], [i]-vii pages. Colored lithograph, "Landing of Americus on the Continent;" 12 additional b/w wood-engraved plates; one folding chart of Vespucius' genealogy with 3" tear at the place it attaches to the book. Foxing throughout, light stain on some pages at the beginning of the book, including on the title page. Good. Hardcover.
A valuable history based in part on Vespucius's own letters.
Charles Edwards Lester (1815-1890), b. Griswold, CT; d. Detroit, Michigan. Lester was a Presbyterian minister, a diplomat, and author. He is often noted as a descendant of Jonathan Edwards. He traveled in America and Europe, and was a delegate to the London Antislavery Conference in 1840. In 1842 President Tyler appointed him as United States Consul at Genoa. From 1845 to 1883 Lester was the author of 13 significant works of history and biography.
