Exploring the Early Americas
Exhibition Items
Pre-Contact America
Urban Landscapes
- House model. West Mexico. Nayarit. 200 BC–AD 300. Painted buff ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (001.00.01)
- House model. West Mexico. Nayarit. 200 BC–AD 300. Painted red ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (001.00.02)
- House model. West Mexico. Nayarit. 200 BC–AD 300. Ceramic with traces of pre-fired paint. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (001.00.03)
- José Luciano Castañeda. Monumentos antiguos existentes en la República Mexicana (Existing antique monuments in the Republic of Mexico). [1824]. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (002.00.03)
- Frederick Catherwood (1799–1854). Back of Idol at Copan, ca. 1842. Pencil and brown wash drawing on paper. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (003.00.03)
- Claude-Joseph-Désiré Charnay (1828–1915). Ruines du Mexique et types mexicains (Ruins of Mexico and types of Mexicans), 1862–1863. Albumen prints. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (004.00.00)
- “Venecie” from Hartmann Schedel. Liber chronicum (Book of chronicles). Nuremberg: A. Koberger, 1493. Facsimile. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (007.00.02)
- “Corduba,” from Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg. Théâtre du cites du monde. [Brussels?: 1576?-1620?] Facsimile. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (007.00.03)
- “Roma,” from Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg. Théâtre du cites du monde. [Brussels?: 1576?-1620?] Facsimile. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (007.00.04)
- Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg. “Mexico, regia et celebris Hispaniae novae civitas (Mexico, regal and reknowned state of New Spain)” and “Cusco, regni Peru in novo orbe caput (Cusco, capitol of the kingdom of Peru in the New World)” in Civitates Orbis Terrarum. (Commonwealths of the World) Cologne: T. Graminaeus, 1572. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (005.00.00)
- Jin ling tu yong (The city of Nanjing in 1400). Nanjing: Zhu Zhifan, 1624. Facsimile. Rare Book Collection, Asian Division, Library of Congress (007.00.01)
- “Byzantium, nunc Constantinopolis” (Byzantium, now Constantinople) from Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg. Théâtre du cites du monde. [Brussels?: 1576?-1620?] Facsimile. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (007.00.05)
- Réné Caillié. “View of the City of Timbuctoo” from Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo and across the Great Desert to Morocco, performed in the years 1824–1828. Vol 2. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1830. Facsimile. General Collections, Library of Congress (007.00.06)
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Ritual, Ceremonies, and Celebrations
- Pair of bi-conical effigy incense burners. Central Mexican Highlands. Mixtec. AD 1200–1500. Polychromed buff ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (010.00.00)
- Ballplayer relief panel. Guatemalan Lowlands. La Carona (Site “Q”). Maya, AD 550–950. Limestone. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (011.00.00)
- Miniature flask with ball player panel. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Mold made cream slipped ceramics with red cinnabar. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (012.00.01)
- Ballgame ceremonial stone hip belt. Puerto Rico. Taíno, AD 700–1500. Hard gray stone. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (014.00.00)
- Stucco painted conch shell. Maya, AD 700–900. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (015.00.00)
- Monumental jaguar sculpture. Mexico. Southern Veracruz. Maya, AD 600–900. Painted buff ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (019.00.00)
- Two-part cache vessel with applied god heads. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 200–600. Painted ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (018.00.00)
- “Eccentric” flints. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Chipped gray flint. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (017.00.01 - 05)
- Alfred Percival Maudslay (1850–1931). Biologia Centrali-Americana or Contributions to the Knowledge of the Fauna and Flora of Mexico and Central America. Annie Hunter, illustrator. London: R.H. Porter and Dulau, 1889–1902. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (017.01.00)
- Diego Rivera (1886–1957). “Creation.” Illustration for the Popul Vuh, ca. 1931. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (020.00.00)
©Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust
- Antonio de Mendoza (1492–1552). “Relacion de las ceremonias . . . de los Indios de la provencia de Mechoacán (Account of the ceremonies . . . of the Indians of the province of Michoacan).” Manuscript, eighteenth century. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (035.00.03)
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Language and Context
- Large vase with glyphs and eleven characters. Guatemalan Highlands. Nebaj region. AD 600–900. Polychromed orange-gloss ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (008.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- White background vase with six figures and glyphs. Guatemalan Lowlands. AD 600–900. Polychromed ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (009.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Vase depicting seated ruler and dwarf. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Red-rimmed, black-on-cream ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (023.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Shell cup with six incised hieroglyphs. Maya, AD 200–400 Shell. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (028.00.00)
- Ceremonial ballgame yoke in form of a toad. Mexico.Veracruz. AD 200–400. Carved gray granite. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (013.00.00)
- Vase with deer hunting procession. Guatemalan Highlands. Chama style. Maya, AD 600–900 Polychromed orange-gloss ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (016.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Vessel with Maya scribes. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Red-rimmed, black-on-cream ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (022.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Large polychrome tripod plate. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Painted orange-gloss ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (027.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Painted miniature flasks. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Red and brown-black-on-cream ceramics. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (029.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Incised creamware vessel. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 550–900. Ceramic with a cream-colored slip and cinnabar highlighting in the glyphs. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (024.00.00)
- Vase with Sixty Hieroglyphs. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Red and black-on-cream ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (033.00.00)
- Bowl with Carved Underworld Scene and Five Hieroglyphs. Yucatán. Chochola style. Maya. AD 600–900. Grey ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (033.01.00)
- “Fleur De Lis” vase with primary standard sequence glyph band. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Black and orange on white ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (033.02.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Large shell pectoral with narrative scene. Mexico. Maya-Toltec style, AD 900–1200. Incised conch shell. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (033.09.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Earspool with four incised glyphs. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 200–400. Light green jade and red cinnabar. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (033.04.00)
- Pair of carved long bones. Mexico. Northern Veracruz. Huastec region, AD 1200–1500. Carved and polished bone. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (033.05.00)
- Vase with lords in the mouths of serpents. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Polychromed ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (033.07.00)
- Tall black-background vase with Teotihuacan-Maya war and sacrifice themes. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Polychrome ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (040.01.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Tall vase with regal dressing scene in palace. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 600–900. Polychrome ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (040.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus I. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1992. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (025.00.03)
- Antonio de Nebrija. (1441–1522). Gramática de la lengua castellana (Grammar of the Castilian language). Salamanca: 1492. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (026.00.03)
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Recording History
- Stone torus with incised hieroglyphs. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 489. Limestone. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (034.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Carved mirror back with hieroglyphs. Guatemalan Lowlands. Early Classic Maya, AD 200–600. Greenish slate with red cinnabar. K4829. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (034.01.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- The wooden offering container of Aj K'ax B'ahlam of Tortuguero. Mexico. Tabasco. Maya, AD 681. Wood (sapodilla) and red hematite. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (038.00.00)
- Ricardo Almendáriz (fl. ca. 1787). Coleccion de estampas copiadas de las figuras originales . . . del Pueblo Palenque (Collection of drawings copied from the original figures . . . of the village of Palenque)[1787]. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (036.00.03)
- Antonio del Rio (fl. 1786–1789). Description of the Ruins of an Ancient City, Discovered near Palenque. . . . London: Henry Berthoud, and Suttaby, Evance and Fox, 1822. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (037.00.03)
- Genealogy and Family History of Merchant Alférez Ignacio López de Herrera and wife . . .(1703–1739), Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (039.00.04)
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The Heavens and Time
- Miniature “altar” with three spherical supports and painted glyphs. Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 200–600. Incised and red-painted marble. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (041.00.00)
- Antonio de León y Gama (1735–1802). Descripción histórica y cronológica de las dos piedras en la plaza principal de México. Mexico: F. de ZúΖiga y Ontiveros, 1792. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (042.01.01)
- Codex Dresdensis: Sächsische Landesbibliothek Dresden (Mscr. Dresd. R 310)/ Kommentar, Helmut Deckert, zur Geschichte der Dresdner Maya-Handschrift; Ferdinand Anders, die Dresdner Maya-Handschrift kodikologische Beschreibung. Graz, Austria: Akadem. Druck-u Verlagsanstalt, 1975. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (043.00.00)
- Coiled stone rattlesnake with day sign. Central Mexican Highlands. Aztec culture, AD 1400–1521. Gray volcanic basalt. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (044.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Petrus Apianus Apianus (1492–1552) and Gemma Frisius (1508–1555). Cosmographia, Petri Apiani . . . additis euisdem argumenti libellis ipsius Gemmaa Frisii. . . . Antwerp: Arnoldi Birckmanni, 1564. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (045.00.03)
- Johannes Mueller (1436–1476). [“Regiomontanus”] in Calendarium (Calendar). Nuremberg: 1474. Rosenwald Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (046.00.03)
- Mariano Fernández Echeverría y Veytia. Aztec Calendar Wheel from Historia del origen de las gentes que poblaron la América septentrional (History of the Beginnings of the People Who Settled North America). Early nineteenth-century facsimile manuscript. Peter Force Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (047.00.03)
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Explorations and Encounters
Columbus and the Taíno
- Christopher Columbus (1451–1506). Epistola Christofori Colom (Letters of Christopher Columbus). Rome: Stephan Plannck, after April 29,1493. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (048.00.03)
- Christopher Columbus. De Insulis nuper in Mari Indico repertis in Carolus Verardus: Historia Baetica. Basel: I.B. [Johann Bergman de Olpe], 1494. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (048.01.03)
- Benjamin Stevens, first comp. and ed. Christopher Columbus, His Own Book of Privileges, 1502. London: Chiswick Press, 1893. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (050.00.03)
- Fernando Colón (1488–1539). Historie del sig. don Fernando Colombo, nelle quali s'hà particolare, & vera relatione della vita, & de' fatti dell'ammiraglio don Christoforo Colombo suo padre (History by Don Fernando Columbus . . . Don Christopher Columbus, his father). Milan: Girolamo Bordoni, [1614]. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (051.00.03)
- Christoper Columbus. Por parte del conde de Gelues, de doña Francisca Colon, de don Christoual Colon, y de don Baltasar Colon, se suplica a V.m. que cerca de la executoria que la parte de la marquesa de Guadaleste pide, de la que llama sente[n]cia, dada en su fauor por el consejo Real de las Indias. [Spain: s.n., ca. 1586]. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (052.00.03)
- Ceremonial wooden stool (“Duho”). Haiti.Taíno, AD 1000–1500. Carved lignum vitae. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (054.00.00)
©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Shell Amulet. Haiti or Dominican Republic. Taíno, AD 700–1500. Carved shell. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (055.00.01)
- Effigy bone vomitive spatula. Greater Antilles. Taíno, AD 700–1500. Carved manatee rib. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (056.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Heart shaped vessel. Dominican Republic. Taíno, AD1000–1500. Ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (057.00.00)
- Antonio Nebrija. Introductorium in Cosmographiae libros [Introduction to cosmography]. Salamanca: Printer of Nebrija, ca. 1498. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (53.00.03)
- Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (1478–1557). La historia general delas Indias (The general history of the Indies). Seville: Cromberger, 1535. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (067.00.03)
- Girolamo Benzoni (b. 1519). La historia del mondo nuovo di M. Girolamo Benzoni Milanese [The history of the New World of Mr. Girolamo Benzoni of Milan]. [Venice: F. Rampazetto, 1565.] Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (68.00.03)
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Cortés and the Aztecs
- Hollow warrior with feline helmet. Central Mexican Highlands. Mixtec, AD 1200–1500. Polychromed ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (059.00.00)
- Xipe-Totec priest wearing flayed human skin. Central Mexican Highlands. Aztec, AD 1400–1521. Painted volcanic basalt. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (065.00.00)
- Choker with nineteen death’s heads. Mexico. Mixtec, AD 1200–1500. Carved shell. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (066.00.00)
- Hernán Cortés. Praeclara Ferdina[n]di Cortesii de noua maris oceani. . . (Enlightenment of Ferdinand Cortés concerning new facts about the new sea and the ocean . . .). Nuremberg: Peypus, 1524. Facsimile. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (060.02.00)
- Hernán Cortés. Dowry agreement for Montezuma’s daughter, June 27, 1526. Copied from a Spanish manuscript, [Valladolid], ca. 1750. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (061.00.03)
- Francisco López de Gómara (1511–1564). The pleasant historie of the conquest of the West India, now called New Spayne: atchieued by the vvorthy prince Hernando Cortes, marques of the valley of Huaxacac, most delectable to reade/translated out of the Spanishe tongue by T.N., anno 1578. London: Henry Bynneman, [1578]. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (062.01.02)
- Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496–1584). Historia verdadera de la conqvista de la Nueva--España (True history of the conquest of New Spain). Madrid: Imprenta del Reyno, 1632. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (063.00.03)
- Diego Muñoz Camargo (ca. 1529–1599). Fragmentos de la Historia de Tlaxcala. 1852 manuscript copy of original ca. 1560–1592. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (064.00.03)
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Pizarro and the Incas
- South American Indian avian whistle vessel. Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (077.00.00)
- Pedro de Cieza de León (1518?–1560). Parte Primera Dela Chronica Del Peru. [Seville : Impressa en Seuilla en casa de Martín de Montesdoca], 1553. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (70.02.01)
- Francisco Pizzaro. Response to a petition by conquistador Pedro del Barco. Cusco: April 14, 1539. Facsimile. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (071.01.00)
- Chart of Pacific Coast of Central and South America. [Spanish?, mid-sixteenth century]. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (072.02.00)
- Vocabulario en la lengua general del Peru llamada quichua, y en la lengua Española. El mas copioso y elegante que hasta agora se ha impresso (Vocabulary in the general language of Peru called Quechua, and in the Spanish language. . . .). Lima: 1586. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (073.00.03)
- Dona Inés Múñoz. Power of attorney to Hernando Pizarro, Sebastián Rodríguez, and Juan de Cáceres to petition for restoration of Indians. Lima, May 5, 1543. Peru. Harkness Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (074.00.03)
- William E. Warne. Ruins of Sacsahuamán (Cusco City, Peru), 1950. Copyprint. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (075.00.00)
- Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas (d. 1625). Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las Islas i Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano (General history of the deeds of the Castilians in the islands. . . .). Madrid: Emplenta Real, 1601–1615. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (076.00.03)
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Interpreting the Conquest
- Bartolomé de las Casas (1474–1566). AMS to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Valladolid, Spain, ca. 1528. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (080.01.00)
- Juan de Tovar. Historia de la benida de los yndios apoblar a México de las partes remotas de Occidente los sucessos y perigrinaçiones del camino su gouierno, ydolos y templos dellos, ritos y cirimonias . . . calandarios de los tiempos [History of the arrival of the indians that populated remote parts of western Mexico, the events and course of their government, idols, temples, rites, and ceremonies . . . calendars of the times.] Handwritten manuscript transcribed by Elizabeth, Lady Phillips, of Middle Hall, England, ca. 1862. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (098.00.01–04)
- Bartolomé de Las Casas (1474–1566). Brevíssima Relación de la destrucción de las Indias (Very brief account of the destruction of the Indians). Seville: Sebastian Trugillo, 1552. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (079.00.03)
- The New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians/ Promulgated by the Emperor Charles the Fifth, 1542-1543. A facsimile reprint of the original Spanish edition. London: Chiswick Press, 1893. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (082.01.01)
- Le troisieme livre d’Amadis de Gaule [The third book of Amadis of Gaul]. Lyon: Benoist Rigaud, 1575. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (078.03.00)
- Bartolomé de Las Casas (1474–1566). The Spanish colonie, or, Briefe chronicle of the acts and gestes of the Spaniardes in the West Indies, called the Newe World. London: Thomas Dawson for William Broome, 1583. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (081.00.03)
- Antonio de Solís. Historia de la conquista de México. [The history of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards]. London: printed for T. Woodward, J. Hooke, and J. Peele, 1724. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (086.00.03)
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Conquest of Mexico Paintings
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (090.00.00)
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (091.00.00)
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (092.00.00)
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (093.00.00)
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (094.00.00)
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (095.00.00)
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (096.00.00)
- Second half of the seventeenth century. Oil on canvas. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (097.00.00)
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Conflict and Accommodation
- Theodor de Bry. Americae pars quinta nobilis & admiratione plena Hieronymi Bezoni. [Frankfurt: 1595.] Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (083.00.02)
- Huejotzingo Codex. Mexico: 1531. Harkness Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (087.00.00)
- Oztoticpac Lands Map. Mexico, ca.1540. Manuscript on amatl paper. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (088.00.00)
- Techialoyan land record. San Juan Tolcayuca, México. Aztec, seventeenth century. Manuscript map on amatl (fig-tree bark paper). Geography and Maps Division, Library of Congress (089.00.03)
- Willem Piso. Gulielmi Pisonis medic Amstelaedamensis De Indiae. . . . (Willem Piso, doctor of Amsterdam and of the Indies. . . .). Amsterdam: Ludovicum et Danielem Elzevirios, 1658. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (084.01.02)
- “Matrícula de Tributos” (Roll of tributes) in Francisco Antonio de Lorenzana. Historia de Nueva-Espaÿa (History of New Spain). Mexico: Joseph Antonio de Hogal, 1770. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (069.00.03)
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Aftermath of the Encounter
Languages and Religion
- Fragment of Christ figure. San Rafael Cave, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Taino, sixteenth century. Carved lignum vitae. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (058.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Alonso de Molina (d. 1585). Vocabulario en lengua castellana y Mexicana (Vocabulary in the Castilian and Mexican languages). Mexico: Antonio de Spinosa, 1571. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (099.00.03)
- Diego Valadés (b. 1533). Rhetorica Christiana. . . . (Christian Rhetoric . . . ). Pervsiae: Petrumiacobum Petrutium, 1579. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (101.00.03)
- Pierre Pelleprat (1606–1667). Introduction a la langue des Galibis, sauuages de la terre ferme de l’Amerique (Introduction to the language of the Galibis . . . ). Paris: Cramoisy, 1655. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (100.00.03)
- Priest’s handbook, Guatemalan highlands. Bound manuscript, ca. 1544–1570. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (103.00.04)
- King Phillip II (1577–1598). Autograph letter to Archbishop Pedro de Contreras, December 2, 1598. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (105.00.00)
- Diego de Landa (1524–1579). Relation des choses de Yucatán . . . par l'abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg (Account of things of Yucatan . . . Translated and with an introduction by the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg). Paris: Auguste Durand, 1864. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (102.00.03)
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Competition for Empire
Pirates and Privateers
- Descripcion de las costas yslas y vajos desde Sn. Martin una de las Yslas de Barlovento hasta la Havana (Description of the coasts, islands, and lowlands from St. Martin . . . to Havana), 1777. Manuscript atlas. Pen-and-ink, watercolor, and pencil. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (120.00.03)
- Emanuel Bowen (1673–1767). A New and Accurate Chart of the West Indies with the Adjacent Coasts of North and South America. Drawn from the best Authorities, assisted by the most approved modern maps & Charts. . . . By Eman. Bowen, Geographer to His Majesty. [London: ca. 1720]. Geography and Maps Division, Library of Congress (119.00.00)
- Silver fork, spoon, plate, and gold bullion from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha wreck, 1622. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (118.00.01–04)
- The Florida Pirate, or, An account of a cruise on the schooner Esparanza. New York: [William Borradaile], 1823. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (125.01.01)
- James II, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1633-1701, reigned 1685-1688). By the King, A Proclamation for the More Effectual Reducing and Supressing of Pirates and Privateers in America. London: Charles Bill, Henry Hills, and Thomas Newcomb, [1688]. Double-leaf broadside. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (123.01.00)
- A. O. [Alexandre Olivier] Exquemelin. De Americaensche Zee-Roovers (The Buccaneers of America). Amsterdam: Jan ten Hoorn, Boeckverkoper, 1678. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (121.00.03)
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Spanish Florida
- Abraham Ortelius. “La Florida/Guastecan from Peruuiae avriferæ regionis typus. . . . ” Antwerp: Christophorum Plantinum, 1584. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (110.01.00)
- Cornelis van Wytfliet. Descriptionis Ptolemaicae Augmentum . . . (Decsriptions of Ptolemy Increased . . . ). Lovanii Tijpis Gerardi: Riuij, 1598. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (110.02.02)
- René Goulaine de Laudonnière (c. 1529–1574). L'histoire notable de la Floride (A Noteworthy History of Florida). Paris: Guillaume Auuray, 1586. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (108.01.02)
- Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (ca. 1490–ca. 1557). Relación y comentarios del Governador Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (Account and commentaries of Govenor Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca). [Valladolid: Francisco Fernández de Cordova, 1555]. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (107.01.01)
- Francisco de Pareja (d. 1628). Catecismo en Lengua Timuquana y Castellana (Catechism in the Timucuan and Spanish languages). Mexico: Juan Ruiz, 1627. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (104.00.03)
- Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (1519–1574) to Don Cristóbal de Eraso, Manuscript sailing orders, July 21, 1572. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (111.00.00)
- [Map of the town, fort, and entrance to the harbor of St. Augustine and vicinity, Florida, 1595]. Pen-and-ink tracing. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (167.00.00)
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English Florida
- Theodor de Bry. Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americae (Brief narrative concerning Florida of America). Francfurt: Ioan[n]is Wecheli, sumtibus vero Theodori de Bry, venales reperiu[n]tur in officina S. Feirabe[n]dii, 1591. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (109.01.01)
- Theodor de Bry (1528–1598). Admiranda narratio, fida tamen: de commodis et incolarum ritibus Virginiae. Frankfurt: Ioannis Wecheli, 1590. Latin translation by Charles de L’Écluse of Thomas Hariot’s Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (113.00.00)
- Garcilaso de la Vega (1539–1616). Florida del Inca. Historia adelantado Hernando de Soto, governador y capitan general de la reyno de la Florida . . . [Advanced history of Hernando de Soto, governor and captain general of Florida . . . ]. Lisbon: P. Crasbeeck, 1605. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (106.02.01)
- English military report on St. Augustine, with plans and views of St. Augustine Castle, the Spanish watchtower on Anastasia Island, and Matance’s fort, 1743. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (128.00.03)
- Bernardo de Galvez. Diario de las operaciones de la expedicion contra la Plaza de Panzacola. [Havana 1781]. Dated and signed Bernardo de Galvez, Panzacola 12 de mayo de 1781. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (132.00.03)
- James Killpatrick. An impartial account of the late expedition against St. Augustine under General Oglethorpe. . . . London: J. Huggonson, 1742. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (126.01.01)
- The report of the committee . . . appointed to enquire into the causes of the dissappointment [sic] of success, in the late expedition against St. Augustine, under the command of General Oglethorpe. Charlestown, South Carolina: Peter Timothy, 1742. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (127.00.03)
- Thomas Jefferys (d. 1771). The West India Atlas: or a Compendious Description of the West Indies: Illustrated with Forty Correct Charts and Maps Taken from Actual Surveys. Together with an Historical Account of the Several Countries and Islands which Compose that Part of the World. London: Robert Sayer and John Bennett, 1780. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (129.00.00)
- Letter from George Johnstone (1730–1787), Governor of West Florida, to Hutchinson Muso, July 19, 1766. Holograph manuscript. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (168.00.01)
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The United States: An Emerging Empire
- Viscount Horatio Nelson (1758–1805). “An account of the proceedings of Captain Nelson of His Majesty’s ship Boreas, relative to the illegal trade carried on between the Americans and the British West India Islands.” ca. 1787. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (133.00.03)
- Thomas Jefferys (d. 1771). The natural and civil history of the French dominions in North and South America. London: Thomas Jefferys, 1760. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (130.00.02)
- Thomas Jefferson letter to the Marquis de Lafayette. Monticello, Virginia, November 30, 1813. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (134.00.00)
- George Washington, 1732-1799. Diary written in the leaves of the 1762 Virginia Almanack, 1762. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (135.01.03)
- Letter from Andrew Jackson to Georgia Governor John Clark, April 9, 1821. Holograph manuscript. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, (171.00.00)
- Joseph Hernández, First Delegate to Congress from the Territory, and Brigadier General of the Militia of Florida. Photograph. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. (172.00.00)
- Adams-Onís Treaty. Letter from U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams to Alexander H. Everett, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires at the Hague August 23, 1819. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (170.00.01)
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Sir Frances Drake’s Voyage Maps
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Documenting New Knowledge
Mapping the World
- Carved bowl with swirl patterns. Guatemalan Lowlands. AD 200–500. Burnished black-brown ceramic. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (136.00.00)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates
- Isidore, Bishop of Seville. Etymologiae (Etymologies). Augsburg: Guntherus Ziner, 1472. Vollbehr Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division (138.00.00)
- Paolo Forlani (fl. mid-sixteenth century). Untitled world map in Antoine Lafrery’s (1512–1577) Geografia tavole moderne di geographia (Modern geography of the greater part of the world). Rome: Antoine Lafrery, 1575? Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (149.01.00)
- Bartholomaeus Anglicus. Le proprietaire des choses (The Properties of Things). Lyon: Johannes Siber, 1486. Rosenwald Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (139.01.01)
- Claudius Ptolemy. Geographia. Ulm: Lienhart Holle, 1482. Hain Collection, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (140.02.00)
- Martin Waldseemüller and Mathias Ringmann. Cosmographiae Introductio. St.-Dié: 1507. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (141.01.00)
- Claudius Ptolemy. In hoc opere haec continentur Geographiae Cl. Ptolemaei a plurimis uiris utriusq[ue] linguae doctiss (Continuations of the Geographiae of Cl. Ptolemaeus by many learned men in their own languages). Rome: Bernardinum Venetum de Vitalibus, 1507. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (145.02.00)
- Jan ze Stobnicy. Introductio in Ptolomei comosgraphia[m] cu[m] longitudinibus et latitudinibus et cuvitatum celebrioriu (Introduction to the cosmography of Ptolemy. . . .). Krakow: Florian Ungleri, 1512. Facsimile. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (146.01.00)
- Julius C. Solinus. CIoannis Camertis Minoritani, artium, et sacrae theologiae doctoris, in C. Iulii Solini Polyistor ra enarrationes. Vienna: Johann Singrenium, 1520. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (147.00.00)
- Nouus orbis regionum ac insularum. . . . (News of the regions and islands of the world. . . .). Basel: Johannes Heruagium, 1532. Johann Huttich, comp., with preface by Simon Grynäus. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (148.02.00)
- Nicolaus Copernicus. De Revolutionibus orbium caelestium (On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres). Nuremberg: Johannes Petrus, 1543. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (149.00.02)
- Antonio Floriano (fl. mid-sixteenth century). Untitled globe gores in Antoine Lafrery (1512–1577), Geografia tavole moderne di geographia. Rome: Antoine Lafrery, 1575? Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (148.03.00)
- Johannes de Sacro Bosco (ca. 1195–1256). Sphaera mundi (The sphere of the world). Venice: 1490. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (140.03.00)
- Ludovico de Varthema (ca. 1470–1517). Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema . . . (Travels of Ludovico de Varthema). Venice: Zorzi di Rusconi, 1517. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (146.02.00)
- Ch’onhado (World Map) from Chonha Chido (Map of the World). Hand-copied manuscript map. Korea: mid-eighteenth century, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (139.02.00)
- Oronce Fine (1494–1555). Nova, et universi orbis description. . . . Paris?: Orontius Fineus, 1531. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (147.03.00)
- Portolan chart of the Mediterranean Sea. Genoa?: ca. 1320–1350. Manuscript chart on vellum. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (138.03.00)
- Hartmann Schedel. Liber Chronicarum. Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1493. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (141.02.00)
- Nicolo Stolfo. Drawings of zodiacs, hands, and divisions of time in Portolano. Venice: 1499. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (145.03.00)
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Cartographic Treasures
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Natural History
- Juan Eusebio Nieremberg (1595–1658). Historiae naturae, maxime peregrinae (Natural history, most especially the foreign). Antwerp: Plantiniana Balthasaris Moreti, 1635. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (157.00.03)
- Arnoldus Montanus, 1625?-1683. De nieuwe en onbekende weereld (The new and strange world. . . .). Amsterdam: Jacob, 1671. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (159.00.03)
- Mark Catesby (1683–1749). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. London: W. Innys and R. Manby, 1731-43. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book Division, Library of Congress (160.00.03)
- John Gould (1804–1881). A monograph of the Trogonidae, or family of trogons. London: Taylor and Francis, 1875. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (160.01.03)
- William Bartram (1739–1823). Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida. . . . Philadelphia: James and Johnson, 1791. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (161.00.03)
- Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859). Vues des Cordillres et Monuments des peuples indigènes de l'Amérique (Views of the Cordilleras and monuments of indigenous peoples of America). Paris: R. Schoell, 1810. Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (162.00.03)
- Nikolaus Joseph Jacquin (1727–1817). Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum historia. . . . Vienna: 1780. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (163.00.03)
- Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717. Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensiam. . . . Amsterdam: G. Valck, 1705. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (164.00.03)
- Nicholas Monarde (ca. 1512–1588). Delle cose che vengono portate dall’Indie Occidentali [Of the things that have been brought from the West Indies]. Venice: Giordano Ziletti, 1575. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (165.02.01)
- Effigy vessel in the form of a rabbit. Central Mexico. Tlatilco, 1150–550 BC. Ceramic with a cream-colored slip highlighted with black resist design. Jay I Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (166.00.00)
- Nicholas Monarde (ca. 1512–1588). Joyfull Newes Out of the Newe Founde World. . . . London: W. Norton, 1577. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (165.02.01)
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