A HISTORY OF THE LIFE AND VOYAGES OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

In four volumes

First edition: Four volumes : Vol. 1 473; Vol. 2 490; Vol. 3 413; vol4 489 pages, 2 folding maps, top edge gilt, fore edge and bottom edges sprinkled, half brown calf, with brown pebble grained cloth boards, black titles gilt on the spines, the leather is slightly scuffed and worn, a good set.

Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. With full access to the American consul's massive library of Spanish history, Irving began working on several books at once. The first offspring of this hard work, A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, was published in January 1828. The book was popular in the United States and in Europe and would have 175 editions published before the end of the century.

Irving's writings on Columbus are a mixture of history and fiction, a genre now called romantic history. Irving based them on extensive research in the Spanish archives, but also added imaginative elements aimed at sharpening the story. The first of these works is the source of the durable myth that medieval Europeans believed the Earth was flat.[54] According to the popular book, Columbus proved the Earth was round.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Irving