An inquiry into the origin of the antiquities of America. By John Delafield, Jr. With an appendix, containing notes, and "a view of the causes of the superiority of the men of the northern over those of the southern hemisphere." By James Lakey, M. D.
New York: published for subscribers, by Colt, Burgess & Co.; London: Longman, Rees, [et al.];: Paris: A. & W. Galignani & Co., 1839. First edition, large 4to, pp. [5], 6-142; 7½-foot long folding lithographic frontispiece printed on tissue paper (detached, but present), 10 lithographic plates (5 hand-colored); library rebinding in half black cloth over marbled paper-covered boards, typed label on spine, a.e.g.; ex-Central Library, Syracuse, with occasional rubberstamps; lithographic reference sheet for the folding plate printed on tissue paper amaturely pasted in as a frontispiece, hinges cracked; lightly foxed; a copy with faults, but complete and the binding is sound. The lithographic frontispiece is a facsimile of the Codex Boturini, an Aztec codex that depicts the migration of the Azteca. The uncolored plates contain Aztec skulls and artifacts, and the colored plates depict scenes from Aztec mythology. The illustrator was Louis Samyn of Cincinnati. The author concludes that the American aborigine came here via the Bering Straits in two migrations that went to North and South America respectively. Howes D-226 (noting that the folding frontis is often lacking); Sabin 19333; Palau 69956. Item #57090
Price: $500.00
