Color title-leaf & 25 color plates.52x42 cm. (20½x16½:), set loose in cloth portfolio along with 16-page text booklet in English.
Superb facsimile reproducing the striking original hand-colored lithographs of the 1844 first edition. Frederick Catherwood (1799-1854) accompanied writer John Lloyd Stephens to Central America in 1839, and made numerous drawings of the majestic ancient cities they discovered, using a camera lucida to aid him. These drawings were used to illustrate two works by Stephens on the expedition, and also resulted in his magnificent portfolio of hand-colored lithographs. OCLC/WorldCat lists only 14 copies of this edition..
The plates include: Pyramidal building and fragments of sculpture at Copan -- Back of an idol at Copan -- Broken idol at Copan -- Idol and altar at Copan -- General view of Palenque -- Principal court of the Palace at Palenque, Interior of casa III at Palenque -- General view of Las monjas at Uxmal -- Ornament over the principal doorway, Casa del Gobernador, Uxmal -- Archway, Casa del Gobernador, Uxmal -- Gateway of the great Teocallis, Uxmal -- Ornament over the gateway of the great Teocallis, Uxmal -- General view of Uxmal, taken fram the archway of Las monjas, looking south -- Portion of a building, Las monjas, Uxmal -- Portion of La casa de las monjas, Uxmal -- General view of Kabah -- Interior of the principal building at Kabah -- Wekk and building at Sabactsche -- Gateway at Labnah -- Well at Bolonchen -- Las monjas, Chichen-Itza -- Teocallis at Chichen-Itza -- Castle, at Tuloom -- Temple, at Tuloom -- Colossal head, at Izamal -- Idol at Copan