We all know where I stand on the issue of who should be digitizing what parts of our literary and cultural heritage. The issue is a heated one and remains at the forefront of the open access debate.
Here are some fruits of digitization.
I hope the beauty of these images and the significance of their historical content will contribute to the debate on why a digital archive of this type of material must be undertaken by the public, not for profit sector.
lThe Library of Congress has just posted the complete contents of 6 items from the Jay I. Kislak collection. The Kislak collection consists of 4,000 rare books, maps, documents, paintings, prints, and artifacts focusing on the early Americas from the time of the indigenous people of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean through the period of European contact, exploration, and settlement.
I present 5 images from one item in the collection. They come from Collection of Drawings copied form the original figures…discovered in the…pueoblo of Palenque. [Palenque, Mexico: 1787]
In 1787, the military governor of Guatemala sent soldier Antonio del Río to excavate a Mayan ruin near Palenque, marking the dawn of scientific archaeology in the Americas. Del Río and his men spent five weeks clearing the site and studying, drawing, and exploring. Del Río recounted the work in a remarkable report that was illustrated with thirty drawings made by Ricardo Almendáriz. Del Río’s manuscript has been preserved in Madrid, but the drawings were only recently found in a private European collection.
If you ever need a reminder of what is at stake you can always visit BibliOdyssey to witness more of the fruits of digitizing our literary and cultural heritage.