Codice Chimalpopoca. anales de Cuauhtitlan y Leyenda de los soles

xxi+161 pages with 83 facsimile pages, and index. Royal Quarto (12 1/4" x 8 1/2") bound in full leather with red label to spine and gilt lettering. Original wrappers bound in. Translated from Nahuatl by Primo Feliciano Velazquez. From the library of George M Foster. Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH), First series, number 1. 3d edition.

One of the great documents of colonial Mexico, the Codex Chimalpopoca chronicles the rise of Aztec civilization and preserves the mythology on which it was based. Its two complementary texts, Anales of Cuauhtitlan and Legend of the Suns, record the pre-Cortesian history of the Valley of Mexico together with firsthand versions of that region's myths. Of particular interest are the stories of the hero-god Quetzalcoatl, for which the Chimalpopoca is the premier source. Two previous editions of the Annals have appeared. The first (1885) was bad and requires no comment. The second edition was made in German by Dr Walther Lohmann (1938). This third edition made the document available to Mexico and scholars for the first time. If we compare the Velazquez edition (3d edition) to that of Lohmann, we miss the bilingual text (Nahuatl and translation) and the ubiquitous notes and tables which make the German edition verge on completeness. The Velazquez edition has a usable facsimile of the entire manuscript, a fine index of place and person names, a linguistic commentary and an introduction which endeavors to connect the Annals with the work of Sahagun.

George McClelland Foster, Jr born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on October 9, 1913, died on May 18, 2006, at his home in the hills above the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a professor from 1953 to his retirement in 1979, when he became professor emeritus. His contributions to anthropological theory and practice still challenge us; in more than 300 publications, his writings encompass a wide diversity of topics, including acculturation, long-term fieldwork, peasant economies, pottery making, public health, social structure, symbolic systems, technological change, theories of illness and wellness, humoral medicine in Latin America, and worldview. The quantity, quality, and long-term value of his scholarly work led to his election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1976. Virtually all of his major publications have been reprinted and/or translated. Provenance from the executor of Foster's library laid in.

Condition:

Lacks Foster's stamp, but has Foster's date of acqu (6/5/46) and place, original wrapper soiled, points rubbed. A very good copy.