Rare Geology Book: Bullock, William, Jr.; Six Months’ Residence and Travels in Mexico. 1824.

Bullock, William, Jr.; Six Months’ Residence and Travels in Mexico; Containing Remarks of the Present State of New Spain, Its Natural Productions, State of Society, Manufactures, Trade, Agriculture, and Antiquities, &c. With Plates and Maps. 1st edition, London: John Murray, 1824. 8vo (23.1 x 15 cm), [v] vi-xii, [1] 2-532, [4, ads] pp. (pp. 83-86 and 163-164 are not cancels, as in some copies), 16 aquatint plates (folded frontispiece, and 4 colored costume plates); 2 engraved folded maps; folded typographical statistical chart.
In the original tan paper over and blue boards, printed paper spine label, untrimmed, as issued. Upper joint partially split and re-enforced with archival tissue on the inner hinge, slight offsetting from some plates (including title), otherwise a near fine untrimmed copy in original binding.


William Bullock (1773-1849) was an English traveler, naturalist, antiquarian and writer. In 1795 he founded a Museum of Natural Curiosities in Liverpool and in 1801 published a descriptive catalog of the collections. Some of the material had been brought back to England from James Cook’s expeditions. He moved his establishment to London in 1809, housing the collections in his newly built Piccadilly Egyptian Hall. Bullock was a Fellow of the Linnean Society, Geological Society of London and Wernerian Society.?In 1822 he travelled to Mexico to observe its natural and archeological wonders but also to acquire antiquities, minerals, and other natural curiosities.?During the course of his travels he was given possession of a silver mine  by Mexican officials and acquired numerous artifacts which were to be exhibited in his London museum. He devotes an entire chapter to the silver mines and minerals of Themascaltepec which is where his mine was located.?He was provides particular detail to Mexico City and described the city in the most glowing terms. His observations about the country were, indeed, the most contemporary to be had at the time. The book was an immediate success, with all 1,500 copies of the first edition—double the usual 750—taken up on the first day. Further editions promptly issued in 1825 including translations into Dutch, German, and French. ?The considerable detail Bullock lavished on the illustrative materials in the book, mostly based on his own drawings has led to their being valued as beautiful and accurate depictions of Mexico at the time. The work gives a glowing picture not only of Mexico as a country for tourists, but also as a place of unrivaled opportunities for mining, commerce and investment.?The stunning aquatint plates in this book make it not only important for nineteenth-century Mexico, but also for plate books in general. The Plan of the City of Mexico was based on the celebrated map of Mexico City by Diego García Conde (1760-1822), a native of Barcelona, who came to Mexico and served as captain of the Spanish Dragoons in Mexico and supervised construction of the road from Veracruz to Jalapa.The original map, engraved in Mexico in 1807, is almost impossible to obtain. García Conde’s map, as found in Bullock’s book, is an alternative for acquiring an early version of the greatest nineteenth-century map of Mexico City.
The maps plans and plates are:
Maps and plans.
Ancient Mexico. From the Original Map made by order of Montezuma for Cortez. Brought to England in 1823, by Mr. Bullock Published as the Act directs May 1824, by John Murray Albemarle Street London. J. Walker Sculpt.
A Plan of the City of Mexico, By Lt. Coll. Count Don Diego Garcia, A.D. 1793 Published as the Act directs May 1824, by John Murray Albemarle Street London. J. Walker Sculpt. Neat line to neat line: 31.2 x 34.7 cm; overall sheet size: 34.8 x 37.8 cm.
Geographical Tables of the common Leagues of distance of Cities and Towns of the Empire of Mexico.
Plates.
View of the City and Valley of Mexico, from Tacubaya  Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock, Junr. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
North Side Of Varacruz, from the Castle of San Juan De Ulua Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr., 1823. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
South Side of Varacruz, from the Castle of San Juan De Ulua  Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr., 1823.
West Side of Xalapa, with the Mountain Perote Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
East Side of Xalapa Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
Superior Indians in their Holiday Dress Published by I. Murray, London, 1824. Hand colored.
Northern Extremity of Puebla De Los Angelos Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr, 1823. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
Southern Extremity of Puebla De Los Angelos, from the S.E. Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr, 1823. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
Gate on the Canal of Chalco, Mexico Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
Mexican Indians going to Market Published by I. Murray, London, 1824. Hand colored.
Mexican Indians returning from Market Published by I. Murray, London, 1824. I. Hand colored.
Mexican Gentlemen. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824. I. Clark sculpt. Hand colored.
Ancient Mexican Sculpture. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824. I. Clark
Ancient Mexican Sculpture. Plate 2 Published by I. Murray, London, 1824. I. Clark sc.
Pyramid of the Sun, or of San De Teotihuacan Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock Junr. Published by I. Murray, London, 1824.
The Volcanic Mountain of Popocatepetl. 17875 Feet in height. Drawn on the Spot by W. Bullock, Junr, Published by I. Murray, London, 1824. I. Clark sc.