The Ancient Cities of the New World being Voyages and Explorations in Mexico and Central America from 1857-1882 by Charnay, Claude-Joseph D�sir� (1828�1915) - 1887

xlvi+514+[2 ad] pages with frontispiece, maps (on fold out), illustrations and plates. Small quarto (10 1/4" x 7") issued in full blue cloth with gilt title to spine and silver, red and gilt lettering and decorations to cover. Translated by J Gonino and Helen S Conant. 1st American edition.

Claude-Joseph Désiré Charnay was a French traveler and archaeologist notable both for his explorations of Mexico and Central America, and for the pioneering use of photography to document his discoveries. He was born in Fleurie, and studied at the Lycée Charlemagne. In 1850, he became a teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana, and there became acquainted with John Lloyd Stephens's books of travel in Yucatan. He travelled in Mexico, under a commission from the French ministry of education, in 1857-1861; in Madagascar in 1863; in South America, particularly Chile and Argentina, in 1875; and in Java and Australia in 1878. In 1880-1883, he again visited the ruined cities of Mexico. Pierre Lorillard IV of New York City contributed to defray the expense of this expedition, and Charnay named a great ruined city near the Guatemalan boundary line "Ville Lorillard" in his honor; the name did not stick and the site is more commonly known as Yaxchilan. Charnay went to Yucatan in 1886. The more important of his publications are Le Mexique, souvenirs et impressions de voyage (1863), being his personal report on the expedition of 1857-1861, of which the official report is to be found in Viollet-le-Duc's Cités et ruines américaines: Mitla, Palenque, Izamal, Chichen-Itza, Uxmal (1863), vol. 19 of Recueil des voyages et des documents; Les Anciennes villes du Nouveau Monde (1885) English translation The Ancient Cities of the New World (1887).

Condition:

Spine ends heavily chipped with loss to head, and some chips along edges and face of spine, corners bumped and rubbed through, loose, previous owner's name on front end paper else a good copy issued without jacket.