"Featuring rare materials and artifacts from the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the History and Archaeology of the Early Americas at the Library of Congress." "First published in 2019 by GILES, an imprint of D Giles Limited"--Title page verso. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Collecting history/History of collecting -- Before Columbus : art and writing in the ancient Americas. Writing and the Codex in the pre-Columbian Americas ; Art and archaeology : a selection of objects from the Jay I. Kislak collection -- After contact : European reactions to a New World, 1492-1650. Printing comes to the Americas ; Columbus's Book of privileges ; Martin Waldseemüller's vision of the New World ; The coming of Hernán Cortés ; Pizarro and Spanish expansion South ; Bartolomé de Las Casas and human rights in the Americas ; Ethnography, natural history, and the beginnings of archaeology in the New World -- Conclusion: The collecting continues -- Endnotes -- Appendix I: Letter of Seymour de Ricci -- Appendix II: Translation of Papal Bull.
Summary:
The history of the early Americas is a story of before and after, defined and divided by a pivotal moment of contact between two distinct cultures. On the European side it is a tale of exploration, high-stakes treasure-seeking, and conquest. For indigenous Americans--including the Maya, the Nahua, the Ta no, and the Wari--it is the beginning of the end, a violent saga of disease, enslavement, and the loss of languages and rituals. This collision of cultures comes to life in the manuscripts, maps, archaeological objects, and rare books that make up the collection of early American treasures in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. 'Collecting for a New World: Treasures of the Early Americas' relates these encounters through vivid illustrations and interpretive descriptions of more than sixty rare and priceless items. In describing for the first time the journeys of the objects themselves--via African shipwrecks, secret meetings on airstrips, discoveries in castle libraries, and journeys into unknown archaeological sites hidden deep in the jungles of Guatemala--curator John Hessler reveals the role played by private collectors, whose knowledge, vision, and--in many cases, philanthropy--contribute so significantly to the collective understanding and interpretation of history and culture.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.