CODEX MENDOZA by KURT ROSS (COMMENTAIRES) - 1979: MANUSCRIT AZTEQUE

Miller Graphics, Fribourgh, 1978. Hard cover. Very Good. Very good in very good dust jacket.

Miller Graphics/ Liber S.A.,CH-Fribourg, 1984. Hardcover. Near new condition, covers bright, text clean and binding tight without a dust jacket.. Size: 8.75" x 11", 121pp., illus. Text in English.

Fribourg: Productions Liber SA / Miller Graphics, 1978. First Edition. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. Near Fine/Very Good+. 4to. Pp. 124. Lavishly illustrated with color halftone photo reproductions. White cloth with titles stamped in gilt on the spine; decorated endpapers. In the color photo-illustrated dust jacket that shows light evidence of wear. Printed in Spain. Reproduction of the manuscript held by the Bodleian Library, with multiple detail enlargements. Commentary by Ross. Dust jacket is now preserved in a clear, removable archival sleeve.

The Aztec Codex Mendoza was prepared on the authority of the first Viceroy of New Spain. Its intended recipient was the emperor Charles V. Specially written by an Aztec painted book artist (a 'tlacuilo'), using the native pictographic form of writing, its purpose was to allow the monarch to get a view of what his strange new dominions were like. It depicts a host of customs, rites and everyday objects, and notes on a vast number of signs and glyphs. It was sent to Europe on completion but never reached its intended reader, and over a century later it ended up at the Bodleian Library in Oxford where it remains today. Ross's book features many dazzlingly produced colour images.
A very good copy. Pages are thick, art-quality style, and are bright, clean and tidy. The slightest of foxing spots on edges. White cloth boards are tight and clean. DJ is unclipped and has some general tanning mostly at the top. Otherwise in a very good state. There is an original small price label on the front inner flap. All… Read More

minor shelf rubbing on book and jacket. Pages inside appears clean and clear throughout. 'The Aztec painted manuscripts known as 'the Codex Mendoza' was prepared on the authority of Don Antonio de Mendoza, first Viceroy of New Spain, shortly after the Spanish conquest, for dispatch to the emperor, Charles V. The Codex was specially written by an Aztec painted book artist using the native pictographic system of writing. So that the Spanish monarch should be able to read it and form an idea of his strange dominions in the New World, a Spanish priest familiar with the language of the Aztecs, 'Nauatil', was asked to write a detailed explanation of the contents.