Collection : Contributions to the ethnohistory of Mexico
L’éminent mésoaméricaniste John Burgess Glass (1929-2015), spécialisé dans l’étude des manuscrits pictographiques précolombiens, publia à compte d’auteur une collection intitulée Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico, au sein de laquelle il édita la somme de ses recherches sur les collections de Lorenzo Boturini, dans une sous-série intitulée : The Indian Museum of Lorenzo Boturini.
Il reste sans doute l’auteur qui a le plus exploré toute la documentation archivistique relative à l’affaire judiciaire intentée contre l’historien et antiquaire italien par l’Inquisition espagnole de Nouvelle-Espagne. Au final, bien que Lorenzo Boturini n’ait pas été condamné pour hérésie, son traitement reflète les tensions entre les autorités coloniales, l’Église, et les chercheurs indépendants s’intéressant aux cultures autochtones du Mexique ancien, traitement qui allait hélas perdurer.
John B. Glass s’est imposé comme une autorité sur les manuscrits hiéroglyphiques mésoaméricains, publiant nombre d’articles et d’ouvrages de référence, notamment les deux chapitres fondamentaux du Handbook of Middle American Indians (1975) :
- A Survey of Native Middle American Pictorial Manuscripts ;
- A Census of Native Middle American Pictorial Manuscripts en collaboration avec Donald Robertson.
Publiés en 1975, ces recensements restent l’entreprise de signalement des manuscrits pictographiques précolombiens du monde la plus complète et indépassée qui existe.
Compte tenu de leur mode de publication, les Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico de John B. Glass s’avèrent rares dans les bibliothèques, surtout européennes, raison pour laquelle nous en donnons le détail ici.
Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 1
- Aztec chronology in the codex of la Magdalena Mixiuca / John B. Glass. – Lincoln, Mass. : Conemex Associates, 1974, 1 vol. (20 p.) ; 28 cm.
Bibliogr. p. 20.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : B 3563
Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 2
- Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón (1579-1660), Historia mexicana : a short history of ancient Mexico / Domingo Chimalpahin ; Spanish text and English translation edited by John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, MA : Conemex Associates, 1978, 1 vol. (60 p.) ; 28 cm. – (The Lesser writings of Domingo Chimalpahin ; part 5).
Includes index. Bibliogr. p. 57.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : B 3564
Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 3
- Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón (1579-1660), Compendio de la historia mexicana / Domingo Chimalpahin ; extracts from a lost manuscript edited by John B. Glass ; English translation of Nahuatl texts by Gordon Whittaker. – Lincoln Center, Mass. : Conemex Associates, 1975, 1 vol. (24 p.) ; 28 cm. – (The lesser writings of Domingo Chimalpahin ; part 7).
English, Aztec, and/or Spanish. Includes index. Bibliography: p. 24.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : B 3565
Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 4
- The Boturini collection and the Council of the Indies, 1780-1800 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1976, 1 vol. (56 p.) ; 28 cm. – (The Indian Museum of Loenzo Boturini, vol. I, chapters 9 and 10).
Bibliography: p. 56.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : B 3566

Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 5
- The Boturini collection and the Mexican National Museum and General Archive, 1821-1826 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Mass. : Conemx Associates, 1977, 1 vol. (25 p.) ; 28 cm. – (The Indian museum of Lorenzo Boturini, vol. I, chapter 12).
“References”: p. 25.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : N-Z-102443 (ex B 3567)

Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 6
- The Boturini collection and a concordance of the inventories, 1742-1918 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1978, 1 vol. (50 p.) ; 28 cm. – (The Indian Museum of Loenzo Boturini, vol. II, part 1).
Chiefly tables.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : B 3568
Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 7
- Sahagun : reorganization of the manuscrito de Tlatelolco, 1566-1569 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Mass. : Conemex Associates, 1978, 1 vol. (50 p.) ; 28 cm.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : B 3569
Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 8
- The Boturini collection and the text of the legal proceedings in Mexico, 1742-1743 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1979, 1 vol. (72 p.) ; 28 cm. – (The Indian Museum of Lorenzo Boturini, vol. 1, chapter 4).
Text of documents in Spanish with introduction and notes in English. Includes bibliographical references.
Médiathèque du Musée du Quai-Branly-Jacques-Chirac : B 3570

Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 9
- The Boturini collection : the legal proceedings and the basic inventories, 1742-1745 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1981, 1 vol. ([73]-122 p.) ; 28 cm. – (The Indian Museum of Lorenzo Boturini ; vol. 1, chapter 5).
English and Spanish. Includes bibliographical references

Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 10
- The Boturini collection : documents numbers 1743-1-1 through 1743-2-6 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1981, 1 vol. (p. 102-178) ; 28 cm. – (Indian Museum of Lorenzo Boturini ; vol. 2, part 3).

Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 11
- The Boturini collection : Mexican government records and inventories, 1742-1826 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln, Mass. : Published by the author, 2004, 1 vol. (p. 51-75) ; 28 cm. – (The Indian Museum of Lorenzo Boturini ; vol. II, part 2A).
“This paper is a continuation of a previous publication in this series: The Boturini collection and a concordance of the inventories, 1742-1918… and contains many references to the earlier work”– p. 52. Includes bibliographical references.
Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico ; 12
- Boturini in Spain / John B. Glass. – Lincoln, Mass. : John B. Glass, 2005, 1 vol. (329 p.) : ill., facsims. ; 28 cm. – (Indian museum of Lorenzo Boturini ; vol. 1, chapter 6).
“An early outline for The Indian museum anticipated that ‘Boturini in Spain’ would be a single chapter of twenty pages or so. Interpretation and presentation of the abundant sources in Spain have caused it to far outgrow the dimensions of that expectation. The chapter designation is nevertheless preserved in order to relate the preceding and later parts of this work.”–T.p. verso. “Published by the author.” Includes bibliographical references. Text in English and Spanish.
The Indian Museum of Lorenzo Boturini
La sous-collection The Indian Museum of Lorenzo Boturini1 a reçu sa propre numérotation au sein de la collection principale Contributions to the ethnohistory of Mexico :
Vol. 1, chapter 4
- The Boturini collection and text of the legal proceedings in Mexico, 1742-1743 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1979, 1 vol. (72 p.) ; 28 cm
Contient : Introduction ; Outline of the Proceedings ; References ; Text of the Proceedings ; Appendix 1 : Extract from a letter to the Kinf of Spain from the Conde de Fuenclara, Viceroy of Mexico, February 28, 1743 ; Appendix 2 : Concordance of document numbers, pagination of the Ramirez copy, and leaf numbers of the original manuscript
Vol. 1, chapter 5
- The Boturini collection : the legal proceedings and the basic inventories, 1742-1745 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1981, 1 vol. ([73]-122 p.) ; 28 cm
Contient : Introduction ; The despatch from the Vatican ; The Archbishop ; The Viceroy : Boturini’s declaration of November 1742 ; Recommendations of the Crown Attorney, January 1743 ; Arrest and imprisonment, February 1743 ; Drawing for the crown of the Virgen of Guadalupe ; Confiscation and list of the collection, February-March, 1743 ; Boturini in prison ; The catalogu of July 1743 ; Texts of the proceedings ; Money and jewels for the coronation ; The Inventory of September 1743 ; Conclusion of the proceedings in Mexico, October 1743 ; Deportation to Spain : The Inventory of July 1745 ; Appendix : Summary of further proceedings in Mexico, 1744-1745, and miscellaneous documents, of 1748, 1749, and 1754 ; Tables : 1742 Concordance of items exhibited by Boturini in November 1742 with descriptions in the basic inventory of September 1743 ; 1743A Concordance of identifiable items in the confiscation list of February – March 1743 and the Inventory of September 1743 ; 1743B Comparison of entries in the catalogs of July 1743 and 1746 ; 1743C Number of entries and items in the eight sections of the basic inventories of September 1743 and July 1745
Vol. 1, chapter 6
- Boturini in Spain / John B. Glass. – Lincoln, Mass. : John B. Glass, 2005, 1 vol. (329 p.) : ill., facsims. ; 28 cm
Vol. 1, chapters 9-10
- The Boturini collection and the Council of the Indies, 1780-1800 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1976, 1 vol. (56 p.) ; 28 cm
Contient : 9 : The search for historical documents, 1780-1783 ; The Royal order and list of 1784 ; The University Commission List of 1787 ; Appendix : Text of the University Commission List of 1787 ; State of the Collection in 1788 ; Appendix : Text of the Inventory of 1788 ; Additional documents from Temporalidades, May 16, 1788 ; Report of the Viceroy, May 26, 1788 ; The Royal Order of February, 1790 ; 10 : Introduction ; The Inventory of July, 1790 ; Appendix : The text of the Inventory of July, 1790 ; Formation and content of the Colección de memorias de Nueva España ; The Boturini collection and the Colección de memorias de Nueva España ; Appendix : Advertencia del Padre Colector ; Appraisal and Inventory of Nahuatl texts, 1791 ; Appendix : Certificación del Intérprete General ; Aftermath, 1795-1800 ; Appendix : Jaun Bautista Muñoz and the Boturini collection ; References ; Tables : 1784 : Royal list of 1784 ; 1787 : Concordance : University Commission List of 1787 / Royal order fo February, 1790 / numbers 12-31 of the Inventory of July 1790 ; 1788 : Concordance : Inventories of 1771 / 1788 / numbers 1-11 and 32 of the inventory of July, 1790 / part of the invetory of 1804 ; 17980 : Royal order of February 1790 ; 1792A : Colección de memorias de Nueva España ; Titles, volumes 1-32 ; 1792B : Colección de memorias de Nueva España : Outline of volume 1 ; 1792C : Colección de memorias de Nueva España : Boturini documents ; 1791 : Concordance of the Inventory of 1791
Vol. 1, chapter 12
- The Boturini collection and the Mexican National Museum and General Archive, 1821-1826 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Mass. : Conemx Associates, 1977, 1 vol. (25 p.) ; 28 cm
Contient : The Founding of the Mexican National Museum and general Archive, 1821-1826 : The Secretariat of State and Relations, 1821 ; The Inventory of october, 1823 ; Inventory numbers of 1823 ; List of missing documents, 1823 ; The Inventory of 1826 and the Museo Nacional ; The Archivo general, 1823-1826 ; Analysis of the Inventories of 1823 and 1826 ; Appendix : Indice de la Sección de Historia del Archivo General ; References ; Tables : 1823A : Disagreements in concordances of the Inventories of 1823 and 1826 ; 1823B : Legajos 1, 2, 3, & 5, Inventory of 1823 / Legajo 6, Inventory 1826 ; 1823C : Legajo 3, Inventories of 1823 and 1826 ; 1823D : Concordance of the List and Inventory of 1823 ; Concordance of an undated inventory of the Archivo General ; 1823E : Analysis of the Inventory and List of 1823
Vol. 2, chapter 1
- The Boturini collection and a concordance of the inventories, 1742-1918 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1978, 1 vol. (50 p.) ; 28 cm
Contient : THE CONCORDANCE TABLES : Symbols and abbreviations ; Introduction ; Documents in the basic inventories ; Unequated documents in the later inventories ; Concordance and identification ; Inventory numbers on documents ; Guide to the reconstruction ; OUTLINE OF THE RECONSTRUCTION : TABLES : Documents in the basic inventories : Index of identifiable items, confiscation list of Feb.-Mar., 1743 ; 1-2 Inventory of 1743-1-1 through 1-18 and 2-1 ; Index of 1746 Tomo and Lienzo numbers ; 3-7 Inventory of 1743-2-2 through 2-52 ; 8 Inventory of 1743-3-1 through 3-15 ; 9-14 Inventory of 1743-4-1 through 4-59 ; 15-16 Inventory of 1743-5-1 through 5-28 ; 17-20 Inventory of 1743-6-1 through 6-34 ; 21-23 Inventory of 1743-7-1 through 7-44 ; 23-27 Inventory of 1743-8-1 through 8-69 ; Unequated documents in the later inventories : 28-29 Catalog of 1746 ; 30 Inventory of 1771 ; 31 Inventory of 1787 (documents not from the Boturini collection) ; 32 Inventories of 1787, 1788, 1790, and 2 items in vol. 1, CMNE ; 33 Inventory of 1791 ; 33-35 Inventory of 1804 ; 36 Inventories of Archivo General (n.d.), 1823, and 1918
Vol. 2, chapter 2A
- The Boturini collection : Mexican government records and inventories, 1742-1826 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln, Mass. : Published by the author, 2004, 1 vol. (p. 51-75) ; 28 cm
Vol. 2, chapter 3
- The Boturini collection : documents numbers 1743-1-1 through 1743-2-6 / John B. Glass. – Lincoln Center, Massachusetts : Conemex Associates, 1981, 1 vol. (p. 101-178) ; 28 cm
This paper describes the first 56 documents in the basic inventories of the Boturini collection. The presentation is explained on page 12 and a list of the documents in question is given in Tables 1 through 4 of an earlier part of this study (see “The Boturini collection and a concordance of the in-ventories, 1742-1918,” Contributions to the Ethnohistory of Mexico, No. 6, 1978). The first 33 items (pages 103-132) comprise most of Boturini’s personal papers as well as documents related to his attempt to crown the Virgin of Guadalupe. They are surely the most uninteresting of all manuscripts in his collection and have nothing to do with ethnohistory. Among the following 23 are most of the known writings of Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl and four of those by Domingo Chimalpahin. The box preceding each entry lists the different inventories in which each item is described. The full text of each inventory in which the item is described is either quoted in full or a cross-reference is given to such quo-tation elsewhere in this study. The order in which the items are listed is that by which they are described in the eight sections of the basic inventories of September 1743 and July 1745. The inventory descriptions are identified by BOLD FACE numbers such as 1745, 1804, 1823, etc. It should be emphasized that the LISTA of 1823 is a list of documents missing from the collection at that time and is based on the inventory of 1745.
- A ce jour, nous ignorons si les chapitres suivants sont parus : 1 à 3 pour le vol. 1, 7 et 8 pour le vol. 1, 11 pour le vol. 1. [↩]
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Olivier Jacquot (8 janvier 2026). Collection : Contributions to the ethnohistory of Mexico. Amoxcalli. Consulté le 18 février 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15guc
