Hernán Cortés. Praeclara Ferdina[n]di Cortesii de noua maris oceani.… [Enlightenment of Ferdinand Cortés concerning new facts about the new sea and the ocean.…].
Nuremberg: Peypus, 1524.
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (60)
Map of Tenochtitlán
This volume contains the second and third letters sent by Hernán Cortés to Emperor Charles V. Cortés’s letters are reports and represent some of the earliest European accounts of Mexican people, culture, religion, and history. The accompanying map is the first European image in print of Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) and the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The plan shows a large and complex city with the main temple precinct and plaza, houses, principal thoroughfares, causeways, lakes, suburbs, and towns along the shore. The map draws on both European and indigenous sources.