A. Río & P.-F. Cabrera, 1822

RÍO, Antonio (active 1786-1787); CABRERA, Paul-Félix. Description of the Ruins of an Ancient City, discovered near Palenque, in the Kingdom of Guatemala, in Spanish America. London: G. Schulze for Henry Berthoud and Suttaby, Evance & Fox, 1822.

First edition, untrimmed, of the first publication on Mayan archaeology, focusing on the discovery of the ruins in Palenque, Mexico, with magnificent plates. Captain del Río discovered and examined the now famous ruins of Palenque in 1787, but his manuscript report languished in the provincial archives of Guatemala for decades. This is the first translation and publication of both Río's report and Dr. Cabrera's thesis on the origin of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. The majority of the text (pp. [23-]119) is taken up by Dr. Cabrera's Teatro Crítico Americano. Field 231; Palau 268187; Sabin 71446.

Quarto (280 x 223mm). Half-title, 19 lithographic plates including 1 folding, by Jean Frederic Maximilien de Waldeck after Ricardo Almendariz, printed by McQueen & Co. (light spotting on a few leaves, heavier spotting on last two plates). Modern quarter black cloth over grey boards, gilt titling on spine (Zambrano library labels on back pastedown). Provenance: 19th century annotations on half-title – École Normale Jacques Cartier, Montréal (ownership stamp on title).