INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA, CHIAPAS, AND YUCATAN

Stephens John L

Published by New York Harper Brothers 1867

About this Item

2 volumes. Early Edition, in the same formatting as the first. With a vast profusion of engravings and maps throughout, including 65 engraved plates and a folding map. The engraved plates were made from daguerreotype views and drawings by Frederick Catherwood. 8vo, publisher s original brown cloth lettered and decorated in gilt on the spines. viii, 424; vii, 474 pp. A nice set of these fragile books. Internally, unusually bright and clean, there is only a touch of the usual spotting or mellowing, the bindings have only very light evidence of use or age, virtually no wear, except at the tips from shelving. A very pleasing set, unusually well preserved. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND CLASSIC WORKS ON CENTRAL AMERICA AND A LANDMARK OF MESOAMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY. Stephens was the first westerner to penetrate the jungles of Central America and explore the ruins of the Mayan civilization. William Catherwood's drawings of stelae and other monuments and buildings contribute enormously to the importance of the work. Stephens work inspired generations of Mesoamerican scholars to preserve and explore these remarkable ruins. Catherwood s illustrations set the standard for archaeological illustration and in this case are the earliest and sometimes the only record these monuments. Stephens had been sent, in 1839, by President Martin Van Buren to Central America on a confidential diplomatic visit. He was accompanied by Frederick Catherwood, an English artist with archeological experience. Together, they recorded their observations on the ancient ruins in words and sketches, publishing INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA, CHIAPAS AND YUCATAN in 1841. In the same year they returned to the region for a more comprehensive study and in 843 published their second collaborative effort INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN YUCATAN. In these works, "the wonderful structures of the race of Indians which once inhabited the peninsula of Central America are here described by pen and pencil with great clearness and minuteness" (Field, 379). Stephens wrote "with a quick and keen observation, an appreciative and good-natured sense of the ludicrous, and a remarkable facility of retaining vividly to the last the freshness of first impressions" (DNB). As a result of his extensive travels and popular narrative accounts, Stephens quickly became known as "the American traveler" (DNB).

Seller Inventory # 32989

Bibliographic Details

• Title: INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA, CHIAPAS, AND YUCATAN
• Publisher: New York Harper Brothers 1867
• Binding: Hardcover