Abstract

The prominent Mesoamerican manuscript collection at the Princeton University Library is the result of the collecting activities of William Gates and Robert Garrett, whose vision was to make accessible a documentary collection that, long after their passing, would continue to uncover the indigenous heritage of Mexico and Central America. Gates (1863–1940), a Mayanist scholar, focused his collection on manuscripts written in Mayan languages. Garrett (1875–1961), a Princeton alumnus and banker, collected manuscripts produced on several continents, from ancient times to the twentieth century. Garrett's purchase of the Gates manuscripts in 1930, combined with his subsequent addition of similar texts during the following two decades, created one of the most prominent Mesoamerican manuscript collections in America, donated to the Princeton University Library in 1949. 


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