Books and Manuscripts

Catherwood, F(rederick).
Views of the Ancient Monuments in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan
London: Published by F. Catherwood, 1844. First edition (one of only 300 copies printed). Folio, 21 1/8 x 14 1/4 in. (536 x 362 mm). (ii), 24 pp. Letterpress by Vizetelly Brothers and Co. Illustrated with a chromolithographic title-page by Owen Jones, one lithographic map printed in red and in black, and 25 tinted lithographic plates, by Andrew Picken, Henry Warren, William Parrott, John C. Bourne, Thomas Shotter Boys and George Belton Moore, after drawings by Catherwood; each with tissue guard. Original quarter green morocco over green moire silk-covered boards, stamped in blind and in gilt, lettered in gilt on front board, boards and extremities rubbed and worn, joints rubbed, moderate wear to spine ends, corners bumped; all edges trimmed; foxing to title-page, shallow tidemark in upper fore-edge of same; light to moderate foxing to plates as usual; same tidemark in upper fore-edge of map and subsequent three plates; some plates with shallow darkening in edges. Sabin 11520; Tooley 133; Hill, p. 47

Rare and unsophisticated first edition of Frederick Catherwood's stunning plate book on the ancient monuments of Central America. Catherwood, an English draftsman and architect, accompanied archaeologist and explorer John Lloyd Stephens on two expeditions through Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, and Honduras, from 1839-42. Through intense heat, thick jungle, and bouts of malaria, they visited over 40 archaeological sites, including Copán, Palenque and Uxmal, and created systematic surveys of numerous ruins--detailing some locations for the very first time. Following their return to New York, Stephens published two accounts on their expedition that featured dozens of illustrations by Catherwood, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, in 1841--called by Edgar Allan Poe, "the most interesting book of travel ever published"--and Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, in 1843. Both works were incredibly popular, and were for many American and European audiences their first glimpse at ancient Mayan civilization.

Stephens and Catherwood aimed to capitalize on the success of both works by publishing a massive catalogue of Mayan archaeology, but due to the projected cost, lack of subscribers, and Stephens’s gradual loss of interest, Catherwood pursued the work alone, albeit on a much smaller scale and at his own expense. He selected some of his finest and most interesting views and had them transferred to lithographic stone by some of the finest lithographers of the day, resulting in the current work. This first edition, printed in only 300 copies, has come to be regarded as one of the finest color plate books of the 19th century.

Scarce to auction.