London: copy of Columbus letter goes on sale

The eight-page document, known as the "Epistola Christofori Colum" or the "Columbus Letter," is a Latin translation of a letter the explorer wrote to his royal Spanish sponsors, Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragon and Castille, on his return voyage, the AP reports.

Photo: London: copy of Columbus letter goes on sale

On the order of Pope Alexander VI, the translation was printed in Rome on April 29, 1493 six weeks after the new hero returned home to Spain.

An estimated 500 copies of the letter were originally printed, but very few survive.

The book will be offered for sale by Peter Harrington Antiquarian Books at the Antiquarian Booksellers Association book fair in London June 8-11.

This printing of the letter is the earliest edition available in the market; most of the few other copies are in libraries, the bookseller said.

Columbus vividly described the landscape of Hispaniola and other parts of the Caribbean where his three ships first landed. He described the islands as rife with natural resources, including gold, spices, arable land,  and humans, the AP reports.