Finding aid for the Tonatiúh and Electra Gutiérrez collection of maps and
images of the Americas, 1523-1904
Ednar Segura
Descriptive Summary
Title: Tonatiúh and Electra Gutiérrez collection of maps and images of the
Americas
Date (inclusive): 1523-1904
Number: P840001
Creator/Collector:
Gutiérrez, Electra
Creator/Collector:
Gutiérrez, Tonatiúh,
1929-
Physical Description:
42.48 Linear Feet
(24 boxes, 20 flatfile folders)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The Tonatiúh and Electra Gutiérrez
collection of maps and images of the Americas spans more than three centuries and includes
maps of North and South America, several world maps, and iconography of life, fauna and
rituals in the Americas. It was assembled by the Gutiérrezes as they researched the early
history and exploration of the Americas.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials
described in this inventory through the
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Language: Collection material is in Spanish,
French, German, English and Latin.
Biographical/Historical Note
Tonatiúh Gutiérrez was the son of a high Mexican government official who served during the
years of President Lázaro Cárdenas. An Olympic swimmer in his youth, Gutiérrez became a
professor of economics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), as well as
promoter of the popular and traditional arts. During the 1960s he was the director of
expositions of the National Tourist Council of Mexico, and in the 1970s served as the head
of the Fideicomiso para el Fomento de las Artesanías (later known as Fondo Nacional para el
Fomento de Artesanías, FONART), an important state trust for the promotion of folk art.
Electra López Mompradé de Gutiérrez was the daughter of Spanish republicans exiled to Mexico
in 1939. She became an expert in pre-Columbian dance and dress and Mexican culture and
history. The couple lived in the district of Coyoacán in Mexico City until Gutiérrez's death
after which Mompradé moved to Spain.
Gutiérrez and Mompradé were considered important collectors and dedicated decades of their
lives to researching and publishing books concerning popular culture, folklore, art,
geography and history of Mexico and the Americas. Proficient in multiple languages, they
conducted research in various cities throughout the Americas and Europe, including Mexico
City, San Diego, San Francisco, Austin, Madrid, Paris, and London. As scholars, they
co-authored the majority of their works and wrote important monographs on the history of
Mexico, in particular its iconography and cartography.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Tonatiúh and Electra Gutiérrez collection of maps and images of the Americas, 1523-1904,
The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. P840001.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifap840001
Acquisition Note
Acquired in 1984.
Processing History
The collection was partially processed in 1997. In 2013, Ednar Segura completed the
processing and the arrangement of the collection and wrote this finding aid under the
supervision of Andra Darlington and Karen Meyer-Roux. Item-level cataloging of the maps,
prints and watercolors in the Research Library's online catalog by Ednar Segura and Clarice
De Veyra.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Tonatiúh and Electra Gutiérrez collection includes historic maps of the Americas
spanning more than three centuries, with an emphasis on Mexico and the region of
Mesoamerica. The Gutiérrezes assembled this collection as they researched the early history
and exploration of the Americas and used it to illustrate their publications.
Included are more than 350 maps by cartographers, geographers and publishers from Flanders,
the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, England, and the Americas, including Frans Hogenberg,
Abraham Ortelius, Jodocus Hondius, Willem Janszoon Blaeu, Vincenzo Maria Coronelli, Nicolas
and Guillaume Sanson, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Herman Moll, Henry Popple, and Antonio García
Cubas.
In addition, the collection includes images of life, fauna, landscapes, cities and rituals
in the Americas, historical scenes, and portrait prints of leaders from the Americas and
European explorers. Included are plates from Cesare Vecellio's
Habiti
antichi e moderni di tutto il mondo...
(Venice, 1598), plates from Bernard
Picart's
Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses des peuples
idolatres
(Amsterdam, 1723-1743), and watercolors by the Peruvian artist Pancho
Fierro (Francisco Fierro Palas).
For item-level records of rare books, prints, watercolors and maps in the collection,
search the
Library Catalog for the phrase "Gutiérrez Collection." Gutiérrez
Collection numbers for maps are listed below in the inventory.
Arrangement
Arranged in two series:
Series I. Maps, 1523-1904;
Series II. Images, 1535-circa 1900.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Prints -- Collectors and collecting
Mexico -- Social life and customs
Maps -- Collectors and collecting
Mexico -- Maps
Cartography
South America -- Social life and customs
North America -- Maps
South America -- Maps
North America -- Social life and customs
Genres and Forms of Material
Prints
Maps
Contributors
Gutiérrez, Electra
Coronelli, Vincenzo,
1650-1718
Sanson, Nicolas,
1600-1667
Bellin, Jacques Nicolas,
1703-1772
Hogenberg, Frans, approximately
1539-1590
Blaeu, Willem Janszoon,
1571-1638
Vecellio, Cesare, approximately
1521-1601
Hondius, Jodocus,
1563-1612
Ortelius, Abraham,
1527-1598
Popple, Henry, -1743
García Cubas,
Antonio, 1832-1912
Gutiérrez, Tonatiúh,
1929-
Picart, Bernard,
1673-1733
Moll, Herman, -1732
Fierro, Pancho,
1807-1879
Robert de Vaugondy, Gilles,
1688-1766
Bonne, Rigobert,
1727-1794
Vandermaelen, Philippe,
1795-1869
Series I.
Maps,
1523-1904
Scope and Content Note
Series I consists of printed historic maps spanning more than three centuries, with an
emphasis on Mexico and the region of Mesoamerica. There are more than 350 maps by
cartographers and publishers from Flanders, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal,
England, and the Americas, including Frans Hogenberg (12), Abraham Ortelius (12),
Jodocus Hondius (1), Willem Janszoon Blaeu (112, 113, 120, 158bis, 269), Vincenzo Maria
Coronelli (65, 100, 135, 159), Athanasius Kircher (110), Nicolas and Guillaume Sanson
(23, 123, 190, 273), Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (191, 506), Herman Moll (108, 121, 348),
Henry Popple (303), Antonio García Cubas (15, 63, 196, 274-301, 316, 355, 358), Edward
Stanford (209-226), and Benito Chías y Carbó (367-378).
The series comprises world maps and maps that present a general view of the Americas.
Other maps show specific areas, such as the island of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the
island of Cuba, and the Valley of Mexico, or cities, such as Cuzco in Peru. For
panaromas of cities or renderings of the landscapes in these regions, see Series II.
Given the preponderance of maps relating to Mexico, the Carribean and West Indies, these
are described in separate subseries, Series I.B. and Series I.C.
Included are maps extracted from publications, now loose pages and leaves, and maps
issued separately.
Numbers for individual maps correspond to the inventory numbers assigned by the
Gutiérrezes.
For item-level records of maps in the collection, search the
Library Catalog for the phrase "Gutiérrez Collection."
Arrangement
Subseries I.A.
General maps of the Americas,
1562-1878
Scope and Content Note
Subseries I.A comprises general maps of the Americas, including a map by the Venetian
cartographer Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (135), maps by Henry Popple (303)
21151526900001551 and Gilles Robert de Vaugondy (312) 21151526960001551.
For item-level records of maps of the Americas, search the
Library Catalog for the phrase "Gutiérrez Collection" and
the names of cartographers, printmakers, publishers, geographic areas or the specific
inventory number for the map, such as "303" for the map by Henry Popple.
Loose leaves and pages,
1562-1873
box 1*, folder 1
1562-1750
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 23, 25, 26, 33, 111, 127, 135, 145, 146, 195, 200, 201, 205,
273, 302, 322, 326, 328, 329, 330, 332, 333, 336, 339, 340, 344, 347-351, 354,
384.
box 1*, folder 2
1754-1873
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 20, 22, 27, 28, 34, 39, 43, 44, 48, 124, 126, 143, 149-151,
154, 207, 208, 229.
box 2*
Henry Popple ,
1746
Scope and Content Note
Inventory number: 303.
flatfile 1**-2**
Oversize,
1646-1878
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: [unidentified], 133, 156, 158, 158b, 305, 307-311, 314, 319-321,
324, 325, 334, 352, 365, 366.
Subseries I.B.
Maps of the Caribbean and West Indies,
1548-circa
1850
Scope and Content Note
Subseries I.B consists of maps of the Caribbean and the West Indies and has a clear
emphasis on the Caribbean. Included are maps of the island of Hispaniola during
colonial times prior to its political division and maps of other islands, in
particular Puerto Rico. Prominently represented in this subseries is the island of
Cuba, with its port city of Havana. Included are maps by Rigobert Bonne (323, 361),
Thomas Jefferys (359), and Alain Manesson Mallet (381).
For item-level records of maps of the Caribbean and West Indies, search the
Library Catalog for the phrase "Gutiérrez Collection" and
the names of cartographers, printmakers, publishers or the specific inventory number
for the map, such as "323" for the map by Rigobert Bonne.
box 1*, folder 3
Loose leaves and pages,
1609-circa
1850
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 137-142, 144, 147, 148, 152, 153, 163, 766, 783.
box 1*, folder 4
Loose leaves and pages,
circa
1548-1780
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 359-361, 381-383, 387, 390.
flatfile 3**
Oversize,
circa
1740-1837
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 157, 315.
Subseries I.C.
Maps of Mexico,
1597-1904
Scope and Content Note
Subseries I.C is comprised of general maps of Mexico and maps of regions of Mexico,
such as the Valley of Mexico, Veracruz, and California. The maps of the Valley of
Mexico document the early topography of Lake Texcoco and other neighboring lakes, a
lake system that in modern times has almost completely disappeared due to the
development of the Mexico City metropolitan area. Also included in this subseries are
maps of the Mexican states by Benito Chías y Carbó (367-378), which were published in
1904 in Barcelona.
The subseries documents the work of the Mexican geographer, historian and writer
Antonio García Cubas (1832-1912), who systematically undertook the exploration of the
Mexican territory, which, in the late nineteenth century was not accurately recorded.
His work made an immense contribution in expanding the geographic and geodetic horizon
of Mexico. Maps by Cubas are titled
Atlas geográfico (Atlas
mexicano)
(274-301, 358)
,
Carta general de la Republicana
mexicana
(316)
,
Atlas pintoresco
(196)
, and
Los insurgentes
(15) .
Atlas geográfico (Atlas mexicano)
(274-301, 358)
focuses on Mexican regions that are divided politically and
relates the story of the great migration of the Mexicas (Aztecs) from the north to
their eventual settlement in the Valley of Mexico.
Los
insurgentes
(15)
is a boardgame for two players and a storyteller. As the players
advance around the map by rolling dice, the storyteller relates events of the Mexican
War of Independence.
For item-level records of maps of Mexico, search the
Library Catalog for the phrase "Gutiérrez Collection" and
the names of cartographers, printmakers, publishers.
Arrangement
Maps of California are included in this subseries, as they document the region when
it was a territory of New Spain during the colonial era and of Mexico after Mexico's
independence from Spain.
Loose leaves and pages,
1597-1890
box 5*, folder 1
1597-1783
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 29-31, 47, 52, 54, 56, 173, 175, 180, 181, 183-186, 188-191,
193, 194, 197, 198, 203, 263, 270, 287, 357, 386, 389.
box 5*, folder 2
1825-1890
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: [unidentified], 17, 24, 35-37, 40, 41, 45, 57, 192, 196,
199, 202, 204, 272, 364.
Antonio García Cubas,
1858-1904
flatfile 5**
Atlas geográfico (Atlas mexicano)
(274-301, 358) ,
1858
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 274-301, 358 (29 sheets).
box 7
Carta general de la Republicana mexicana
(316) ,
1863
Scope and Content Note
Inventory number: 316.
flatfile 6**
Atlas pintoresco
(196) ,
1885
Scope and Content Note
Inventory number: 196 (13 sheets).
flatfile 7**
Los insurgentes : juego histórico para
niños
,
1891
Los insurgentes : juego histórico para niños: 1891
Scope and Content Note
Inventory number: 15 (1 map, with 16-page booklet).
flatfile 8**-9**
Other maps,
1624-1885
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 19, 21, 38, 46, 58-60, 62-64, 65-68, 317, 355.
box 5*, folder 4
California,
1698-1772
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 172, 174 (4 sheets), 177, 178, 179, 182.
box 5*, folder 5
Valley of Mexico,
1704-circa
1850
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 262, 385, 392, 393.
box 5*, folder 6
Veracruz,
1706-1880
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 160, 167-171.
Subseries I.D.
Maps of North and Central America,
1620-1868
Scope and Content Note
Subseries I.D consists of general maps of North America, regional maps depicting
areas north of Spanish territories, and maps of Central America. Included are scenic
maps illustrating the Ilopango volcano and Uvas island in Central America and a series
of maps of the regions of North America and of individual states from the United
States (209-226) issued by Edward Stanford in 1867.
Given the preponderance of maps relating to Mexico, the Carribean and West Indies,
these are described in separate subseries, Series I.B. and Series I.C.
For item-level records of maps of North and Central America, search the
Library Catalog for the phrase "Gutiérrez Collection" and
the names of cartographers, printmakers, publishers, and geographic areas.
box 8*, folder 1
Loose leaves and pages,
1620-1868
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 21, 42, 49, 50, 53, 55, 134, 136, 176, 187, 234-245, 247-261,
318, 363.
box 8*, folder 2
Edward Stanford,
1867
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 209-226.
flatfile 10**
Oversize,
1702-1838
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 16, 18, 131, 132, 155, 228, 230-232, 362.
box 8*, folder 3
Panama,
1730-1741
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 109, 128, 129.
Subseries I.E.
Maps of South America,
1523-1864
Scope and Content Note
Subseries I.E is comprised of general and regional maps of South America by European
cartographers and geographers, including Jodocus Hondius, Hendrik Hondius, Cornelius
Wytfliet, Willem Janszoon Blaeu (112, 113, 120, 269), and Guillaume Sanson and
Alexis-Hubert Jaillot (123). Included are a plan of the city of Cuzco (506) and a map
by Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville marking the Jesuit order's missions in the
region of Paraguay (130).
For item-level records of maps of South America, search the
Library Catalog for the phrase "Gutiérrez Collection" and
the names of cartographers, printmakers, publishers, and geographic areas.
box 8*, folder 4
Loose leaves and pages,
1523-1863
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 70, 72-76, 78, 80-82, 89, 90, 92, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 101,
103, 104, 106, 110, 164-166, 227, 264, 265, 271, 379, 388,
flatfile 12**
Other maps,
1630-1861
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 102, 107, 108, 112, 114-122.
box 8*, folder 6
Loose leaves and pages,
1598-1780
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 69, 79, 83, 87, 88, 206.
flatfile 13**
Other maps,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 91, 93.
box 8*, folder 7
Chile,
1670-1780
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 77, 85.
Paraguay,
circa
1635-1771
box 8*, folder 8
Loose leaves and pages,
circa 1730-1771
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 84, 96, 99, 130.
box 8*, folder 9
Loose leaves and pages,
1580-1780
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 161, 266, 506.
flatfile 15**
Oversize,
1690-1732
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 162, 267, 268, 269.
Subseries I.F.
World maps,
1562-1854
box 8*, folder 10
Loose leaves and pages,
1562-1852
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 1-12, 71, 125, 346, 391, 752.
flatfile 16**
Oversize,
1772-1854
Scope and Content Note
Inventory numbers: 13, 14, 159, 356.
Series II.
Images,
1535-circa
1900
Scope and Content Note
Series II includes images of life, fauna, landscapes, cities, rituals in the Americas,
and portrait prints of leaders from the Americas and European explorers. There are
plates from Cesare Vecellio's
Habiti antichi e moderni di tutto
il mondo...
(Venice, 1598), plates from Bernard Picart's
Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses des peuples idolatres
(Amsterdam, 1723-1743), and watercolors by the Peruvian artist
Pancho
Fierro (Francisco Fierro Palas) (1807-1879).
Throughout Series II, there are representations of enslaved people, in particular in
the files labeled Tipos, which depict figures from different social statuses. Series
II.F. includes representations of the extreme violence occurred against enslaved people,
as well as the way they were captured and transported.
Arrangement
Subseries II.A.
Images relating to the Americas,
1590-1880
Scope and Content Note
Subseries II.A. is comprised of allegories of the Americas, landscapes, monuments,
historical scenes, and portraits of leaders active throughout the Americas.
Portraits
Scope and Content Note
For portraits of European explorers, royalty or conquistadores, see Subseries II.G.
Europe.
Subseries II.B.
Images relating to the Caribbean and West Indies,
1671-circa
1890
Scope and Content Note
Subseries II.B is comprised of representations of enslaved Black people, social
gatherings and rituals. Included in this subseries are landscapes of the Carribean and
the West Indies, and panoramas of the city of Havana and other prominent ports.
flatfile 17**
La Habana : Panorama general de la ciudad y su bahía
La Habana : Panorama general de la ciudad y su bahía: [mid-19th century]
Subseries II.C.
Images relating to Mexico,
circa
1579-1894
Scope and Content Note
Subseries II.C comprises representations of prominent towns, port cities, large
estates, and precolonial structures and monuments, primarily from central and southern
Mexico. Imagery documents the cities of Guanajuato and Veracruz, and the Valley of
Mexico, as well as the palace of Mitla in the region of Oaxaca and the Great Pyramid
of Cholula. Included in this subseries are historical scenes, allegories, and other
imagery, such as representations of rituals, hunting and agriculture.
box 17*, folder 2-3
Archaeology
Scope and Content Note
For other illustrations on the archaeological sites of Mitla and the Maya city
state of Palenque, see cuttings from a publication labeled Guatamala in Series
II.E.
Subseries II.D.
Images relating to North America,
1671-1890
Scope and Content Note
Subseries II.D illustrates social gatherings, rituals and religious ceremonies, war
and hunting activities throughout North America, with an emphasis on the rendering of
clothing and attire.
For images relating to Mexico, see Series III.C. Images relating to Mexico.
Subseries II. E.
Images relating to Central America,
1780-1880
Scope and Content Note
Subseries II.E is comprised of images of landscapes and cityscapes, including those
of Belize, San Juan de Nicaragua, and Managua, and of clothing, attire, and rituals,
such as the Danza de los Diablos in Guatemala and marriage ceremonies in Panama.
For images relating to the Carribean and West Indies, see Series II.B.
Subseries II.F.
Images relating to South America,
1535-circa
1900
Scope and Content Note
Subseries II.F documents the life of indigenous people and European settlers present
throughout South America, including the extreme violence against enslaved people, as
well as the way they were captured and transported. Other activities shown include
mining, hunting, horseback riding, fishing, and courting. There are representations of
major cities, ports, and mining towns such as Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Potosi,
iconography of landscapes, fauna and flora both in the Amazon and in the Andes.
Included are illustrations of landscapes and plants in South America published from
drawings by the German botanist and explorer Eduard Friedrich Poeppig (flat file
folder 20**). Poeppig sailed from North America to South America where he explored
large areas from Cape Horn to the Andes, and the Amazon. Recognized as the founding
father of epiphyte studies, an important precursor of modern tropical ecology, Poeppig
published a two-volume travel account of his years in South America and produced
numerous drawings of landscapes and plants.
box 21*, folder 5
Slavery
Scope and Content Note
Included are representations of Europeans chasing, capturing and transporting
enslaved people.
box 22*, folder 7-9
Other representations of tipos
Subseries II.G.
Images relating to Europe,
1577-circa
1870
Scope and Content Note
Subseries II.G includes landscape and scenic prints depicting rural life in Spain and
portraits of European scientists, explorers, conquistadors and royalty. In this
subseries are portrait prints of Johannes Gutenberg, Nicolaus Copernicus, Amerigo
Vespucci, Galileo Galilei, Francisco Pizarro González, Isabella I of Castile and
Alexander von Humboldt.
box 23*, folder 9
Lorenzana, Francisco Antonio
