Maggs Bros.

One of the great monuments in the history of Mayan studies: Alfred Maudslay’s photographs and drawings of a number of the major Mayan sites such as Quirigua, Copan, Chjichen Itza, Palenque and Yaxchiland, executed during his explorations in Central America between 1881 and 1900. Maudslay’s work was published as part of the Biologia Centrali-Americana edited by Frederick DuCane Goldman and Osbert Salvin. Most of that massive set is devoted to natural history, and Maudslay’s work was added almost as an afterthought. Maudslay, an archaeologist, was fascinated by the Mayan ruins and set himself the task of recording the architecture and monuments. He worked with a large wet-plate camera, developing his photographs on the spot. He also made extensive casts. In London, he hired an artist, Miss Annie Hunter, to draw accurate lithographic plates from his photographs and casts. The result is this stunning series of plates. Michael Coe says, “It is impossible to exaggerate the importance to Maya research of Maudslay’s published work. For the first time, Maya epigraphers had large-scale, incredibly accurate illustrations of complete Classic Text…” (Breaking the Maya Code). Coe also credits Maudslay with being the greatest recorder of Mayan inscriptions.