Atlas pintoresco e histórico de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.

Monumental atlas solely devoted to Mexico, very rare to find complete and in very good condition.
This atlas is regarded as one of the most beautiful color-plate books on Mexico. It contains 13 magnificent color lithographs composed of a central map surrounded by reproductions of images that frame the map and that include "the political, ethnographic and ecclesiastical divisions, communication routes, political instruction, orography, hydrography, agriculture, mining, topography of the valley of Mexico and the outskirts of the capital; archeology and history.
One map adorned with portraits of the discoverers, conquerors, missionaries and rulers of Mexico, heroes of independence and prominent people, as well as with chromolithographic drawings of the main types of ethnographic families and views of the most picturesque places in the country, temples, palaces, buildings, public monuments and archaeological objects, such as weapons and currency of the ancient Mexicans, musical instruments, utensils, deities and famous ruins.
The watercolors for landscapes were executed almost entirely by Miguel R. Hernández, the indigenous types were the work of Francisco Mendoza and the portraits that appear in various plates are the work of Francisco Hernández; many other illustrations are anonymous. The first 11 plates show the map of the country, while the other two comprise the valley of the capital and its surroundings.

Antonio García y Cubas devoted himself to the study of Mexican geography, history and archaeology, publishing a succession of atlases beginning in 1858. The Atlas pintoresco e histórico de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos can be said to be a culmination of his work in its beauty and comprehensiveness. Eleven of the thirteen maps show Mexico in various ways: politically, religiously, ethnographically, by transportation, public institutions, agriculture and geological features. Two additional maps show the Valley of Mexico and Mexico City and its environs. Each map is bordered by exquisitely rendered vignettes, pertaining to the map's theme.

Reference: Palau 98736; Litografía y Grabado en el México del XIX, pp. 265-269; Phillips, Atlases, 2686; Mathes, Mexico on stone, p. 44.