Latin Americana
At its inception it was the aspiration of the American Antiquarian
Society to be "American" in the broadest sense of the word. In
the original bylaws Isaiah Thomas stated that it was the objective
of the Society to collect "books of every description, including
pamphlets and magazines, especially those which were early
printed either in South or North America." Collecting Spanish
Americana remained a strong interest of the Society throughout the
nineteenth century and into the early decades of the twentieth
century. In 1868, the Isaac and Edward L. Davis Fund was established for
the purchase of materials relating "to that portion of North
America lying south of the United States." Subsequently, the scope of
the fund was broadened and its income used for the purchase of
works relating to all of Latin America. Stephen Salisbury, Jr., was
interested in Central America and was instrumental in helping
the Society develop its collection in the field of Central
American anthropology and archaeology. During the early years of
Clarence S. Brigham's tenure as librarian of the Society, the collection
expanded, particularly in the area of early printing
history. It was at this time that all of the bibliographical works of Jose
Toribio Medina were acquired, as well as a large collection of Mexican
almanacs and imprints. In addition, Henry R. Wagner gave the
Society a considerable number of important books on Latin America.
In more recent years, it became clear that AAS could and need not
cover the entire span of the American experience at a level
useful for serious research. Therefore, in 1968 the AAS Council
reaffirmed practices that had been followed for a number of years and
accepted the proposition that the range of collecting would include the
former French and English parts of North America from the
period of settlement by Europeans through 1876. As a result of this
decision, the Latin American collection was deliberately and extensively
weeded, with many European and South American imprints going
to Brown University, and afterwards, the newspapers to the
University of Connecticut. Since then, only occasional additions have been
made to the collection, with acquisitions restricted to West
Indian imprints and to books and pamphlets dealing with Central and
South America and the West Indies (generally relating to history,
relations with the United States, or description and
travel) that were printed in the United States before 1877. Secondary
historical works, especially those concerned with the social, political,
and economic history of the West Indies, and those concerned with
the relations between the United States and Mexico during the
period of westward expansion, are added with greater regularity.
Each country or region in Central and South America, and the
West Indies is given its own number in the AAS classification scheme (H120
Andes--H880 Windward Islands). Almanacs (numbering over 500
issues) and West Indian newspapers are the major exceptions; they are
shelved with other examples of their genre.
For current information on the cataloging status of this and other AAS
collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
- Doris O'Keefe, Senior Cataloger
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Four Years' Residence in the West Indies
Frontispiece for the above book
Voyage aux iles de Teneriffe ...
For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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