Detail of Chimborazo Seen from the Plain of Tapia, Louis Bouquet (French, 1885-1952). Engraving from Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples indigènes de l'Amérique (Paris, 1810), by Alexander von Humboldt. Between pp. 200 and 201. Getty Research Institute, 85-B1535
From the last decades of the 18th century until the early 20th century, a revolutionary wave swept across the Americas during which many overseas territories fought to sever ties with European colonial powers. The early revolutions that created the United States of America and Haiti reached a crescendo in the first quarter of the 19th century with the wars of independence, which eventually led to the withdrawal of Spain and Portugal from the Americas. New nations emerged as did the task of articulating new national myths, political structures, and cultural identities. In this section, the reader will find archival collections, books, and prints from the 19th century that capture this historical moment of articulation as recorded by locals and tourists from the United States and Europe alike.
Highlights include an extensive selection of travel accounts from across the hemisphere, especially Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. In addition, this section features many resources that are valuable to the field of archaeology, which experienced significant developments during the 19th century. Resources that reflect the keen academic and commercial interest in Pre-Columbian visual and material culture include facsimile copies of Mesoamerican codices produced in the 1800s and visual and written documentation of archaeological sites.
This section is divided into seven subsections. The Archives and Research Collections are listed in alphabetical order and the materials in Accounts and Chronicles are grouped chronologically (1800–1849, 1850–1899). The materials in subsections Archaeology and Antiquities, Drawings and Prints, Monographs and Essays, Religious and Civic Culture, and Miscellaneous Reference Materials are organized in thematic groups. Uniform and variant titles have been used when they provide additional clarity.
This section includes various representations, including many illustrations, of discriminatory stereotypes, cultural generalizations, and scientific racism.
Many materials that are out of copyright are digitized and publicly accessible through the GRI’s library catalog. If a resource is not digitized at the time this guide is published, it may be in the future. Additionally, searches on the internet or on aggregator platforms such as the Getty Research Portal, the Internet Archive, or Hathi Trust, might yield results for a digital copy made available by another institution.
Chimborazo Seen from the Plain of Tapia, Louis Bouquet. Engraving from Alexander von Humboldt, Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples indigènes de l'Amérique (Paris, 1810), between pp. 200 and 201. Getty Research Institute, 85-B1535