Memorias para a historia da Capitania de S. Vicente, hoje chamada de S. Paulo do estado do Brasil ….

Lisbon, Na Typografia da Academia [Real das Sciencias], 1797.. FIRST EDITION. 4°, later plain pale blue wrappers (spine faded), vertical manuscript short title on spine; manuscript short title and date on front cover. Woodcut device of Academia Real das Sciencias on title-page. Uncut, unopened. In very good condition. Bookplate of António Cupertino de Miranda on verso of title-page. Small, almost square white paper tag at foot of spine with serrated edges, red borders and shelf mark 46/42 printed in center. (4 ll.), 242 pp., (1 integral l. advertisement). *** FIRST EDITION of this basic history for what is the present state of São Paulo. Known in secular life as Gaspar Teixeira de Azevedo, the author (São Vicente, Santos, São Paulo, 1715-Santos, 1800), a member of the Benedictine Order who had studied with the Jesuits at Santos, wrote this work after a diligent study of contemporary documents. A corresponding member of the Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, he refutes a number of erroneous statements about the Paulistas made by Vaisette in his Historia geographica, Paris 1755, and by Charlevoix in his History of Paraguay, 1718. Frei Gaspar was a member of the Bahian "Academia Brasílica dos Renascidos". He became Abbot of his order's house in Rio de Janeiro in 1763, and served as Provincial for the order in Brazil from 1766 to 1769. In later life he devoted himself to his studies as Cronista-mor of his order in Brazil, while serving as Visitador of the monasteries of his native Capitania, declining the bishopric of Funchal, and returning to Rio in 1780 as master of novices before retuning to Santos a few years later. A number of other writings remained unpublished during his lifetime. Provenance: António Cupertino de Miranda (Vila Nova de Famalicão, 1886-1974), teacher, journalist and banker with interests in Portugal and Brazil. In 1915 he emigrated to Brazil for political reasons. Upon his return to Portugal in 1948 he began to organize the foundation which bears his name, which was formally instituted in 1964.*** Borba de Moraes (1983) II, 507: "This classic work is becoming scarce"; Período colonial p. 22. Sacramento Blake III, 172-4. Innocêncio III, 131. Sabin 43753. Streit III, 1299. Bosch 253. JCB II, ii, 3877. JCB Portuguese and Brazilian Books, 797/4. Rodrigues 1080. Welsh 4439. Azevedo-Samodães 1928. See also Palmira Morais Rocha de Ameida, Dicionário de authores no Brasil colonial (2nd ed., revised and augmented, 2010), pp. 324-5.