

A narrative of the mission of the French Capuchins to Maranhão in 1612, by Fathers Yves d'Evreux, Arsène de Paris, Ambroise d'Amiens, and Claude d'Abbeville. De Paris and d'Abbeville returned to France after a few months, brining back six Tupinamba Indians for baptism. They caused an enormous sensation in Paris, and this edition was printed very quickly to take advantage of the curiosity of the French people. Unfortunately three of the Indians died shortly after their arrival. The other three later returned to Brazil.
First edition with "Ciel" as last word on a2, "con" as the last word on a6, leaf 395 unnumbered, 27pp. table at end, printed in single columns. A second edition 'B' was printed the same year in identical format.
VERY RARE. The historians Alfred Métraux and Jacques Lafaye state that only 10 copies are still in existence: "il ne reste plus actuellement qu'une dizaine d'exemplaires au monde de l'édition originale, celle de l'imprimerie de François Huby à Paris."