Ferdinand V, King of Spain and Isabella, Queen of Spain

recognizing Marquis Don Diego Lopez de Pacheco [2nd Duke of Escalona], as lord of Villena and Albacete, and granting feudal rights to him regarding land in Castille-La Mancha, including the towns of Chinchilla, Villarrobledo, San Clemente, Villaneuva de la Fuente and others, outlining his obligations as feudal lord, the text written in a fine secretarial hand, foliated by the scribe ("1"...[and] "6"), annotated with section numbers in the left-hand margins (1-23), with a few annotations and corrections ("& Calona" in section 5), each page initialled with paraph at foot, counter-signed at the end, with the papered seal lettered ("Fernandus et Helisabet Dei Gra. reges Castell et Legionis et Cicilie")

12 pages, folio (c. 290 x 210mm.), SIXTEENTH-CENTURY SPANISH TAN MOROCCO GILT, lettered in gilt "Asiento entre los reies catolicos y el marq[ue]s D. Diego" on upper cover, outer gilt roll-tooled plateresque border depicting military trophies, inner corner fleurons and arabesque centrepiece (composed of smaller tools; possibly seventeenth-century), raised bands, traces of red and purple silk ties, pastedowns of hand-coloured woodcut designs, bookplates of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and J.M. Andrade to flyleaves, early annotations to front cover and rear pastedown, Toledo, 1 March 1480, remargined, repair to last leaf with loss of text to recto (not affecting the signatures), scorch-marks to torn edge, outer border of upper cover with later strips of matching calf pasted over, centrepiece on upper cover slightly rubbed, ties lacking

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

RARE. A substantial and important document by Ferdinand and Isabella, in a Spanish "plateresque" Renaissance binding.  Whilst unbound single leaves signed by Los reyes católicos are not uncommon, examples as long as this are of the greatest rarity at auction.

Don Diego Lopez de Pacheco (1456-1529) was 2nd Duke of Escalona and 2nd Marquis of Villena.  His father Juan Pacheco had been first minister under Enrique IV of Castille (reigned 1454-1474). His wife Juana de Luna died in 1480 and this document may reflect Diego's interest in retaining her inheritance from Alvaro de Luna, who had been first minister under Juan II of Castille. Twelve years later Don Diego participated in the successful Siege of Granada, which confirmed the Reconquista of Spain and the expulsion of the last Moorish Sultan Boabdil. 1492 was also the year of Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas, funded by Ferdinand and Isabella.

This volume bears the book plate of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, the tragic brother of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph who was sent out to rule Mexico in 1864. He was captured and executed by rebels supporting Benito Juárez on 19 June 1867, the subject of a celebrated painting by Edouard Manet. He had acquired the volume as part of the library of the Mexican bookseller José Maria Andrade (1807-1883), hoping that this would form the basis of a "Biblioteca Imperial". However, after his assassination in 1867, Maximilian's library was shipped to Europe and dispersed at auction in Leipzig in 1869.