Los dos restos de Cristobal Colon exhumados de la Catedral De Santo Domingo en 1795 I 1877
Santo Domingo: imprenta De Garcia Hermanos, 1879. 8vo, pp. 111, [1]; folding plate illustrating the urn and various inscriptions of funerary memorials of Columbus; the text has a few other inscriptions relating to the Admiral's interments; original printed light blue paper wrappers; spine paper about half chipped away, bottom of front wrapper torn with small loss; wrappers soiled; good or better. The author expounds his theories regarding the exhumations and final resting place of the remains of the explorer in Santo Domingo. Title page with the previous ownership stamp & book number of George R. Brush, M.D. U.S. Navy. Surgeon & Medical Inspector, from 1861-1894; naval duties took him to many locations in the Caribbean and South America during his long career. The stories of Columbus's remains are a mix of fact and lore. He died in May 1506 and was buried in Valladolid, Spain. The remains were exhumed and moved in 1513 to the monastery of La Cartuja in Seville by the will of his son Diego. In about 1536, the remains of both Columbus and Diego were moved to a cathedral in Colonial Santo Domingo, in the present-day Dominican Republic. By some accounts, around 1796, when France took over the entire island of Hispaniola, Columbus's remains were moved to Havana, Cuba. After Cuba became independent following the Spanish-American War in 1898, the remains were moved back to the Cathedral of Seville, in Spain. Lo and behold! "In 1877, a priest discovered a lead box at Santo Domingo inscribed: "Discoverer of America, First Admiral." Inscriptions found the next year read "Last of the remains of the first admiral, Sire Christopher Columbus, discoverer." The box contained bones of an arm and a leg, as well as a bullet. These remains were considered legitimate by physician and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Eugene Osborne, who suggested in 1913 that they travel through the Panama Canal as a part of its opening ceremony. These remains were kept at the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor [in Santo Domingo] before being moved to the Columbus Lighthouse [a mausoleum monument in Santo Domingo Este] (inaugurated in 1992). The authorities in Santo Domingo have never allowed these remains to be exhumed, so it is unconfirmed whether they are from Columbus's body as well" [Wikipedia]. Palau 329261. OCLC locates copies at the National Library of Chile and the BL. None apparently in North America. Item #58284
Price: $300.00
