An important American bibliographer and bookseller who lived in and worked out of London, Henry Stevens achieved his greatest success in Europe, where over the course of approximately fifteen years, he single-handedly brought to market many pivotal works dealing with the New World. One of the most remarkable book scouts ever, Stevens had an eye for rarities at a time when Europeans had not yet recognized the potential value of Americana. In his book Recollections of Mr James Lenox of New York and the Formation of His Library (1886), Stevens sums up his own career: "I found that a very large number of the choicest historical and bibliographical nuggets relating to the 'Age of Discovery,' with the exploration and development of the New World, occurred but once in my time, in the market for sale." Stevens had been the prospector who had panned out a sizable number of...