Scope and Content Note
The Vespucci Family Papers span the years 1409-1989, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1409 to 1570. The collection is composed primarily of research material assembled by historian Germán Arciniegas for his three books on Vespucci family members: Amerígo y el Nuevo Mundo (Mexico: Hermes, 1955), El Mundo de la Bella Simonetta (Bogotá, Colombia: Planeta, 1990), and El Embajador (Bogotá, Colombia: Planeta, 1990). Consisting chiefly of typed transcriptions in Latin and Italian of correspondence and other documents from the public archives of Florence (Archivio di Stato di Firenze), the papers reflect the Vespucci family's business and personal activities and their relations with other prominent Florentine families, including the de Medicis. Also included are brief biographical essays on numerous individual family members, as well as Arciniegas's note cards and correspondence. Notable individuals represented in the collection include the explorer Amerigo Vespucci and diplomat Guido Antonio Vespucci, the subject of Arciniegas's book El Embajador. Amerigo Vespucci is further represented in the collection by several items acquired by the Library in the early 1900s, including English translations of a letter to Laurentius Patri de Medici and Vespucci's account of his travels titled "The Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci."