Maudslay, Alfred Percival, and Goodman, J.T. | Biologia Centrali-Americana, with the text and plates

Maudslay, Alfred Percival, and Goodman, J.T.

Biologia Centrali-Americana. Contributions to the Knowledge of the Fauna and Flora of Mexico and Central America. Archaeology. London: R.H. Porter and Dulau & Co., 1889–1902 (text and plates); 1897 (appendix)

2 text vols., folio (312 x 240 mm), and 4 plate vols., oblong folio (490 x 317 mm). 393 plates, including autotypes, photogravures, and lithographs, some folding or double-page, and occasional tinted or hand-colored examples; light intermittent toning, a number of plates exhibiting offsetting. Text volumes in contemporary half morocco, spines gilt in compartments, marbled edges; some rubbing, upper joint of vol. II partially split. Clamshell box. Plate volumes in modern morocco-backed portfolios, lettered in gilt; hinges reinforced. [With:] A second copy of the Appendix (The Archaic Maya Inscriptions, 1897), in original printed blue wrappers; worn, chipped, and restored.

First edition of the complete archaeological section of the Biologia Centrali-Americana—a monumental record of Mayan ruins, glyphs, and architecture. Issued in seventeen parts between 1889 and 1902, these volumes represent one of the earliest and most comprehensive photographic and descriptive surveys of Mesoamerican civilization.

The Biologia Centrali-Americana as a whole was conceived as an ambitious survey of the region’s natural history and cultural heritage. While the majority of the series was dedicated to botany and zoology, the inclusion of the archaeological series—authored by Alfred P. Maudslay—marked a significant expansion of the project. Godman himself remarked that Maudslay’s excavations and pioneering use of photography “made a valuable addition to our knowledge of the country.”

The plates depict stelae, sculpture, site plans, and hieroglyphic inscriptions, with extensive documentation of sites such as Copán, Quiriguá, Palenque, and Tikal. Goodman's Appendix is a foundational text in Maya epigraphy.

PROVENANCE:

Hammond Museum Library, gift of Princess Zalstem-Zalessky (1967) (bookplate in the second copy of the appendix only)