DÍAZ DEL CASTILLO, Bernal (1492-?1584). Letter signed ("Bernal Diaz del Cast o ," and with his bold sign manual), also signed by other regidores or officials of the Cabildo of Santiago de Guatemala: Cristóbal Lobo, Francisco López Juan Mazanegos, Alonso Hidalgo and Francisco de Villegas, apparently addressed to the Audencia (Governor) of Guatemala, Santiago de Guatemala [i.e., present day Antigua, Guatemala], n.d. [probably 1551-1553]. 1 page, folio, in dark ink in a Spanish colonial hand (that of the scribe, Juan Gonzalez de Madrid, who has affixed his signature at the end of the document), addressed to "Muy poderosos Señores" at top, the sheet with about 10 small holes affecting two or three letters of text, without affecting readability, otherwise in excellent condition. In Spanish. A VERY RARE DOCUMENT SIGNED BY BERNAL DIAZ DE CASTILLO, AUTHOR OF THE HISTORIA VERDADERO, "THE BEST ACCOUNT WE HAVE OF THE CONQUEST" OF MEXICO A letter addressed to the Real Audencia by Diaz del Castillo and other regidores of the capital, concerning a new brickyard ( tejar ) which has been proposed to be established on certain lands belonging to the local authorities, stating that it will be of benefit and utility to the inhabitants and asserting that an agreement will be drawn up with the brickmaker who is to operate the factory in order to regulate the price of its products. The recipient is asked to issue the necessary orders for the plan to be put into operation. VERY RARE: we can trace no other documents signed by this key American colonial figure at auction for at least the last 25 years. Diaz del Castillo, a soldier of fortune, participated in several of the key expeditions of the conquistadores , including that of Pedrarias to the Darien in 1514, and, three years later, that of Córdoba to the Yucatán Peninsula. He then joined the small expeditionary force under Hernando Cortés and was an eyewitness to the entire epic conquest of Mexico, from 1519 to 1521. In 1524, he accompanied Cortés on the expedition to Honduras. Diaz is the author of the fundamental eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico, written between 1552 and 1557, and published under the title Historia verdadero de la conquista de la la Nueva España (Madrid, 1632). Written in opposition to the previously published narrative of the conquest by Lopez de Gomara, Chaplain of the Cortés expedition, Diaz del Castillo's account constitutes perhaps the principal authority for the history of the conquest. Bernal Diaz remained in Mexico until 1541, then relocated to the colony in Guatemala, where he spent the remainder of his life; he was a regidor or member of the city council in 1551 or 1552 (the exact date remains uncertain due to gaps in the records of the Cabildo in that period) and held that office until his death. A similar document from the Actas of the cabildo is illustrated in Herbert Cerwin, Bernal Diaz, Historian of the Conquest , 1963, facing p.164.
DÍAZ DEL CASTILLO, Bernal (1492-?1584). Letter signed ("Bernal Diaz del Cast o ," and with his bold sign manual), also signed by other regidores or officials of the Cabildo of Santiago de Guatemala: Cristóbal Lobo, Francisco López Juan Mazanegos, Alonso Hidalgo and Francisco de Villegas, apparently addressed to the Audencia (Governor) of Guatemala, Santiago de Guatemala [i.e., present day Antigua, Guatemala], n.d. [probably 1551-1553]. 1 page, folio, in dark ink in a Spanish colonial hand (that of the scribe, Juan Gonzalez de Madrid, who has affixed his signature at the end of the document), addressed to "Muy poderosos Señores" at top, the sheet with about 10 small holes affecting two or three letters of text, without affecting readability, otherwise in excellent condition. In Spanish. A VERY RARE DOCUMENT SIGNED BY BERNAL DIAZ DE CASTILLO, AUTHOR OF THE HISTORIA VERDADERO, "THE BEST ACCOUNT WE HAVE OF THE CONQUEST" OF MEXICO A letter addressed to the Real Audencia by Diaz del Castillo and other regidores of the capital, concerning a new brickyard ( tejar ) which has been proposed to be established on certain lands belonging to the local authorities, stating that it will be of benefit and utility to the inhabitants and asserting that an agreement will be drawn up with the brickmaker who is to operate the factory in order to regulate the price of its products. The recipient is asked to issue the necessary orders for the plan to be put into operation. VERY RARE: we can trace no other documents signed by this key American colonial figure at auction for at least the last 25 years. Diaz del Castillo, a soldier of fortune, participated in several of the key expeditions of the conquistadores , including that of Pedrarias to the Darien in 1514, and, three years later, that of Córdoba to the Yucatán Peninsula. He then joined the small expeditionary force under Hernando Cortés and was an eyewitness to the entire epic conquest of Mexico, from 1519 to 1521. In 1524, he accompanied Cortés on the expedition to Honduras. Diaz is the author of the fundamental eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico, written between 1552 and 1557, and published under the title Historia verdadero de la conquista de la la Nueva España (Madrid, 1632). Written in opposition to the previously published narrative of the conquest by Lopez de Gomara, Chaplain of the Cortés expedition, Diaz del Castillo's account constitutes perhaps the principal authority for the history of the conquest. Bernal Diaz remained in Mexico until 1541, then relocated to the colony in Guatemala, where he spent the remainder of his life; he was a regidor or member of the city council in 1551 or 1552 (the exact date remains uncertain due to gaps in the records of the Cabildo in that period) and held that office until his death. A similar document from the Actas of the cabildo is illustrated in Herbert Cerwin, Bernal Diaz, Historian of the Conquest , 1963, facing p.164.
.jpg "Quelle: Christie's")
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