The Drake Manuscript In The Pierpont Morgan Library

RUTH S KRAEMER

Publication: Andre Deutsch Limited, 1996, London

First edition. Fine in dust jacket. Large quarto, numerous illustrations in color. Preface by Charles E. Pierce, Jr., Foreword by Patrick O'Brian, and Introduction by Verlyn Klinkenborg. A stunningly beautiful portrait of the Caribbean world at the time of Sir Francis Drake's travels. Nearly two hundred paintings document plants, animals, fish and birds, as well as daily life and work among the inhabitants, everything from diving for pearls and mining for gold and silver to wedding rituals and preparations for childbirth. This was not the virgin land Drake expected to find. Instead, he found a land already shaped by two sophisticated cultures -- the Spanish and the indigenous Indians. This book is a wonderfully vivid panorama of early European perceptions of the New World. O'Brian's lengthy foreword provides excellent commentary to Sir Francis Drake and his travels.

Inventory Number: 12370