Finding Aid for the Everett Pomeroy 1/2 Snap shot at Mexico, 1900
Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, August 2004; machine-readable finding aid
created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
UCLA Library Special Collections staff
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Everett Pomeroy 1/2 Snap shot at Mexico
Date (inclusive): 1900
Collection number: 170/567
Creator:
Pomeroy, Everett, 1839-
Extent:
109 leaves : paper, ill., photos ; 240 x 197 mm. bound to 253 x 213 mm.
Abstract: A typescript of a travelogue detailing Everett Pomeroy's 1900 trip to Mexico, supplemented with 71 photographs and illustrations.
The journal includes observations on Mexican culture and history, but is mainly focused on the excitements and frustrations
of a Catholic American tourist in Mexico at the turn of the century.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Processing Note
Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, August 2004, in the Center For Primary
Research and Training (CFPRT).
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Everett Pomeroy 1/2 Snap shot at Mexico (Collection 170/567). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Everett Pomeroy was born in 1839 and lived in New Orleans, Louisiana. The manuscript indicates that he was a Catholic American,
and that he entered Mexico on December 31, 1899. He was also the author of "The Great Reformation," a Great Mistake ... by
a Layman (1912).
Scope and Content
Pomeroy traveled from El Paso, Texas to Mexico City, stopping off at Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Aguas Calientes,
Guadalajara, and Guanajuato along the way. The manuscript largely consists of observations on the daily hardships of an American
tourist in Mexico; at several points, Pomeroy offers lengthy remarks on hotels and tourist spots. He is also deeply interested
in the troubled relationship between the Catholic Church and the Mexican government under Porfirio Diaz, a government he perceives
as dangerously liberal and anti-Catholic. The author has included two newspaper clippings that support his assertions. Pomeroy's
understanding of Mexican history is heavily dependent upon William H. Prescott's
History of the Conquest of Mexico, a work to which he makes repeated reference in the text.
Some of the travelogue's more interesting components are its numerous photographs. Several of the photographs are part of
numbered series: five from No. 316-403; fourteen from No. 5202-5660, four from No. 5604-5660; and four from B2166-B2180; ten
photographs are hand-colored. The photographs in the series depict prominent buildings and well-known tourist sites, while
the hand-colored photographs depict Mexicans in traditional dress engaged in everyday activities.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Pomeroy, Everett, 1839--Diaries.
Pomeroy, Everett, 1839--Travel--Mexico.
Mexico--Description and travel--Pictoral works.
Mexico--Social life and customs--Pictoral works.
Genres and Forms of Material
Manuscripts.
Related Material
Note
Layout: Text averages 20 lines a page, with 1 in. margins at left, top, right, and varying size at bottom.
Script: Typescript.
Binding: Dyed black morocco binding, stamped in gilt.
ff. 12r-19r: Crossing from El Paso, Texas to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
ff. 24r-29r: Discussion of the sombrero and the serape
ff. 31r-43r: Aguas Calientes
Scope and Content Note
includes an extensive description of hotels
ff. 44r-48r: Guadalajara
Scope and Content Note
includes a discussion of local duck hunting methods
ff. 49r-95r: Mexico City
Scope and Content Note
includes a version of the story of the founding of Mexico City and
the arrival of Cortez with several references to William H. Prescott's
History of the Conquest of
Mexico
ff. 60r-72r: Plaza de Armas, the Zócalo, the Cathedral of Mexico and a discussion of Mexican churches in general
ff. 71r-77r: Discussion of the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Diaz
government in Mexico
Scope and Content Note
an anonymous critical newspaper article, "The Church in Mexico," is folded
between 72v-73r
ff. 76r-86r: Religious practices of the Aztecs and the positive influence of Catholicism
Scope and Content Note
includes a newspaper article about the positive role of Catholicism in Mexico (85v)
ff. 96r-108r: Leaving Mexico and returning to the United States.
