Selections from the Library of José Durand

One of the earliest research projects undertaken by Professor José Durand (1925-1990) was a study of the library possessed by the first native-born historian of the Spanish colonies in the New World, Garcilaso de la Vega, el Inca (1539-1616). Although the books themselves perished in a fire in in the mid-17th century, Durand pieced together evidence from surviving inventories to compile a listing of the volumes that the library once included.

In subsequent years, Durand took his initial project further and began to physically reconstruct Garcilaso’s library by purchasing copies of the very editions he would have owned. Over time, he enlarged the scope to include other early printed works that probably influenced the Inca based on analyses of the sources that informed and inspired his chronicles and other writings.

This Web exhibition offers a “virtual” reconstruction of the intellectual world of Garcilaso Inca de la Vega drawing upon the resources of Durand’s personal library, which was acquired by the University of Notre Dame in 1995. More than 70 major historical and literary works from the 16th and 17th century are brought together under four broad headings: Chronicles of the Indies, Classical and Modern Epics, Spanish Renaissance and Italian Humanism. Brief discussions of each work follow under each section, with links to images of title pages, colophons and other significant pages.

View the exhibition here.