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VIZCAÍNO, Sebastián.
Promissory notes signed by Vizcaíno in Japan.
[16] pages, with 9 pages of manuscript text and the remainder largely blank. Folio, 31 x 22
cm, in worn contemporary wrappers with manuscript docketing from Vizcaíno’s 1624
probate procedings, consisting of 4 separate documents, the first 2 being signed by
Vizcaíno; dampstaining, edge wear affecting first Vizcaíno signature, with a bit of the signature
written across the second leaf, final leaf worn on bottom edge, lone wormhole in text area.
Japan, 9 and 20 September 1612
[100,000/150,000]
Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548-1624) was a Spanish soldier and diplomat who figures
prominently in the early exploration of California; he named San Diego during a 1602 mapping
expedition. In 1611, he became the first Spanish diplomat to visit Japan. He made prepara-
tions to leave in 1612 when tensions mounted between the two nations, but needed to make
repairs to his ship first. These promissory notes were signed in an effort to raise the necessary
funds. The first was with Francisco Gordillo on 20 September, and the second on 9 September.
This document is discussed in Mathes, “A Quarter-Century of Trans-Pacific Diplomacy: New
Spain and Japan, 1592-1617,” in Journal of Asian History 24 (1990), pages 1-29 (see page
19 and footnote 28). We are aware of no other signed Vizcaíno documents at auction.