Indians of Southern Mexico, An Ethnographic Album

Chicago, Illinois: Printed for the Author by the Lakeside Press, 1899. This copy is from the library of, and bears the ownership signature of Wilberforce Eames, the "Dean of American bibliographers." [more about Eames below]. This is a remarkably well preserved copy of the 1899 edition limited to 560 copies. Near Fine condition. Square and tight. SEE PHOTOS. Unusual for this very heavy book, hinges -- both inner and outer -- remain in excellent condition. Sharp corners. Page are creamy white, unmarked, with NO foxing. This pioneering anthropological work features 141 collotype plates after photos by Charles B. Lang and Bedros Tartarian. Among the tribes photographed are the Zapotec, Mixe, Tehauntepecano, Juave, Otomi, Tarascan, Aztec, Tlaxcalan, Mixtec, Triqui, Chontal and Cuicatec. To obtain these photos, Starr traveled throughout the Mexican states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, Michoacan, and Oaxaca measuring, modeling sculptures, and photographing. The plates feature portraits of each subject (front and side views), images of typical daily life and activities, group shots with full length figures in native dress, views of villages and environs, etc. The photographic reproductions are full page -- measuring 8.5" tall by 11" wide -- all in FINE condition with exceptional detail and rich tonality. The printed limitation page in this copy is not numbered or author signed. The front fee endpaper is signed by Wilberforce Eames, as "W. Eames" SEE PHOTOS. Two downloads of his autograph are laid in for authentication. The American bibliographer and librarian Wilberforce Eames (1855 - 1937) is known as the "Dean of American bibliographers." Eames compiled many bibliographies and bibliographical references, including major contributions to Joseph Sabin's DICTIONARY OF BOOKS RELATING TO AMERICA. From Wikipedia: "He became an assistant librarian, and eventually a full librarian at Lenox, and later, upon the merging of the Tilden trust, Astor and Lenox libraries he was appointed 'Lenox Librarian.' He became Chief of the American History Division at the New York Public Library in 1911, and Bibliographer (a position he held until his death) there in 1916. In 1924, The New York Times called Eames: "The greatest living scholar of books in America." A. S. W. Rosenbach said of Eames: "Probably the greatest student of books in the whole history of scholarship and book collecting lives quietly in New York, worshiped by every collector and scholar and unknown to the world in general - Wilberforce Eames." Bound in the original dark blue, almost black cloth. All gilt is still bright and shiny. SEE PHOTOS. Oversize Hardcover. Oblong. 14" wide by 10.75" tall by 2.25" thick. This very large, very heavy book (nearly 10 pounds before packaging) will require SUBSTANTIAL extra postage, charged at our cost, depending on destination.. First Edition, Limited to 560 copies. Oversize Hardcover (heavy). Near Fine condition. Illus. by Lang, Charles B.; & Bedros Tartarian (photos by). Unnumbered pages (but 300+]. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.