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Two text volumes plus atlas volume. Text: [4],xiv,[2],20,56,40,88; 82,224,[4]pp., printed in double columns in first volume. Atlas: [23]pp. (interspersed throughout as section titles), plus 167 plates (one double- page) on 162 leaves, with many plates containing more than one image (some 265 numbered images in all). Lacks the called-for map, as is seemingly always the case. Half title in both text volumes. Tall folios, 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards in antique style, raised bands, gilt morocco labels. Occasional very light foxing in the text, a few text leaves moderately tanned, faint old tideline in outer margin of several leaves in second volume. Some foxing toward rear of atlas volume. On the whole very clean and fresh internally. Very good. All volumes untrimmed. A celebrated, beautiful, and highly important study of the antiquities of Mexico, featuring outstanding images of archaeological sites and artifacts, among the earliest ever published. The illustrations, drawn by expedition member Jose Luciano Castaneda, are among the most attractive and influential images of Mesoamerican antiquities ever executed. Many of the plates were later used by Kingsborough in his landmark study, which is certainly a testament to the quality of Castaneda's work, and to the lithographic talents of the Engelmann firm, which printed the illustrations. The plates show the ruins, monuments, and antiquities of Mexico and Mesoamerica, as well as images of artifacts and plans of buildings. They are the first significant published views of Mayan architecture, and Edison calls this work "a cornerstone for the French scientific construction of ancient Mexico during the coming decades." Guillermo Dupaix (1748 or 1750-1817), an officer in the Austrian dragoons, first visited Mexico in 1791, and retired from service in 1800. A few years afterwards he was charged by the Spanish King Charles IV to explore and document all the monuments of Mexico and New Spain still existing from the years before the Spanish conquest. The Dupaix expedition lasted from 1805 to 1807, and it was only the second such expedition, following that of Antonio del Rio in 1787. "Between 1805 and 1807, Dupaix and Castaneda trekked across the Valley of Mexico, Oaxaca, and a portion of the Mayan lowlands to locate and record the ruins of the pre-Columbian cities of Mexico. Dense forests, steep mountains, oppressive heat, swarms of insects, lingering sickness, and bands of robbers were among the many obstacles these explorers had to overcome in order to visit Xochicalco, Cholula, Mitla, Oaxaca and other ancient sites" - Koch. Dupaix's reports and Castaneda's illustrations lay unpublished for more than two decades in Mexican archives - partly due to the growing support in Mexico for independence from Spain - until they were delivered to Abbe Jean-Henri Baradere, who arranged for their publication. Dupaix's explorations and assessments of the culture and accomplishments of ancient Mexico are still praised by modern scholars. The text also includes an essay by American Consul to France and noted antiquarian, David Bailie Warden, on the ancient populations of the Americas, a preliminary discourse by Charles Farcy, a comparison of ancient American monuments to those of Egypt by Alexandre Lenoir, and notes by Baradere. In fact, the text of the second volume expands the study beyond Mexico, with much on the aboriginal history of North and South America and European colonies therein. "Almost an indispensable supplement to Humboldt's VOYAGE DANS L'AMÉRIQUE, as it contains many interesting discoveries not in the latter work" - Sabin. The plates are drawn after the original work of Castaneda, and were lithographed by the Engelmann firm, which is noted for the high quality of its work. In this set the plates are printed on India proof paper, measuring approximately 15 x 9 3/4 inches, and are affixed to leaves that are uniform in height with the text volumes. Thi. Seller Inventory # WRCAM54876
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