2 William H. Prescott first editions are documented on this shelf, from History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843) to History of the Conquest of Peru (1847). Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that William H. Prescott title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.

Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a William H. Prescott copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

History of the Conquest of Mexico — 1843 · Harper & BrothersFirst edition, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1843, in three octavo volumes collating xxxiv,488; xviii,480; xvi,[2],524pp, illustrated with three engraved portraits, two engraved maps, and an engraved plate; Prescott negotiated an initial print run of 5,000 sets. Publisher's binding is brown cloth elaborately blocked in blind, spine titled in gilt, with a gilt stamp on the front cover reproducing the arms of….
History of the Conquest of Peru — 1847 · Harper & BrothersFirst American edition, New York: Harper & Brothers, June 1847, two octavo volumes collating xl+527pp and xix+547pp; volume one carries an engraved portrait frontispiece of Pizarro and a map of Peru, volume two an engraved portrait frontispiece of Pedro de la Gasca and a facsimile plate of Pizarro's signature. The established first-issue points are the absence of a period after the word "integrity" on page 467,…. Bentley's London edition appeared in May 1847, roughly a month before Harper's New York edition of June 1847; despite the earlier London date, the Harper printing carrying the established first-issue points (no period after "integrity," vol. II, p. 467; no printer's slug on vol. I copyright page) is the edition identified in standard American references (BAL 16346, Sabin 65272) and the one American dealers and….

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