Byron McAfee (1883-1966) was an American-born ethnohistorian and linguist who studied Nahua language and culture in Mexico. The collection consists of McAfee's research papers and original manuscripts from Mexico's colonial period.

McAfee was born in Houston, Texas, in 1883; emigrated to Mexico in 1906 as employee of the Compañía Mexicana de Peteo El Aguila, S.A.; began studying the Nahuatl language in 1907 under John H. Cornyn with whom he jointly authored several studies; after Cornyn's death in 1941, McAfee collaborated with Angel María Garibay K. and Robert H. Barlow; became an acknowledged expert in Nahuatl studies and published widely.Byron McAfee (1883-1966) was born in Houston, Texas, and emigrated to Mexico in 1906 as an employee of the Compañía de Petróleos El Aguila. Shortly thereafter, he joined a Nahuatl study group at the Benjamin Franklin Library in Mexico City where he made contacts with scholars such as Robert Barlow, Miguel Leon Portilla, John H. Cornyn and Doña Luz Jimenez (a noted native Nahuatl consultant, also known as Julia Jimenez Gonzalez). McAfee became known as a prolific ethnohistorian and Nahuatl linguist through his research collaborations with Cornyn, and publications of several studies. After Cornyn's death in 1941, McAfee collaborated with noted scholars such as Angel María Garibay K. and Robert H. Barlow, and maintained friendships with Mexican intellectuals such as Alfonso Caso and Manuel Gamio.

9.5 Linear Feet (19 boxes and 1 oversize box)

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other 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.

Portions of collection unprocessed. Material in the boxes 1-2 contain microfilmed material are in nitrate storage and are unavailable for access. Please contact Special Collections reference (spec-coll@library.ucla.edu) for more information.