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La relación y comentarios del gouernador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca · 1555

Title page of the 1555 Valladolid edition of Cabeza de Vaca's revised account, printed after his troubled governorship in Paraguay.

This title page is from the revised edition of his own narrative, printed after his later career in Paraguay.

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Title page of La relacion y comentarios del gouerna dor Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, 1555, with a woodcut coat of arms of two eagles and a shield flanked by pillars, printed in black and red. Handwritten notes appear at top and bottom, and a Harvard College Library stamp is at lower left.
Title page, La relación y comentarios del gobernador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Valladolid, 1555. Houghton Library, Harvard University.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of the 1555 Valladolid printing of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's Relación y comentarios. The first part retells the 1527 Narváez expedition to Florida and the wanderings of its survivors, first published in 1542; this edition was prepared after Cabeza de Vaca's later governorship and arrest in Paraguay. The copy shown is held by Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Why it matters

The revised 1555 edition shows how Cabeza de Vaca kept reshaping and defending his own story over time, adding material that responded to what had happened to him afterward in South America. It is a primary artifact of how a conquistador's printed self-account could change with his changing fortunes.

Look closer

  • Why would Cabeza de Vaca want to revise and reprint his account years later?
  • What does the royal coat of arms and licensing text on the title page tell you about who controlled publishing at the time?
  • What might be missing from an account written by the man whose actions it describes?

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Book

Primary source

The Account and Commentaries of Governor Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca · 1542

Title page of a 16th-century Spanish book in black letter type. Large heading reads COMMENTARIOS, with text naming Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, governor of the Rio de la Plata province. A woodcut coat of arms with a crown sits mid-page, and a blue Harvard College Library stamp appears at upper right. Printed dedication text is at the bottom.Book

Secondary source

Comentarios de Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Pero Hernández · 1555

Open book in a display case showing two pages of old printed text in French with decorative woodcut initials and an illustration of a cactus-like plant. A label to the right reads partially 'Chron... Amer... Gonzalo Valdés... L'histoire... Printed... Paris... Purchased... Oviedo...'Book

Secondary source

Historia general y natural de las Indias

Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés · 1556 (French edition); original work 16th century

Black ink handwritten signature on white background, with large looping flourishes in cursive script above and a smaller line of script below, underlined by a long stroke.Document

Primary source

Signature of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca · reproduced 1886, original signature undated

Title page of a French book in black serif capitals on white paper with faded gray stains at the right edge. Text reads: VOYAGES, RELATIONS ET MÉMOIRES ORIGINAUX POUR SERVIR À L'HISTOIRE DE LA DÉCOUVERTE DE L'AMÉRIQUE.Book

Primary source

Relation et Naufrages

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca · 1837

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