{"product_id":"the-mexican-treasury-simon-varey-9780804739634","title":"The Mexican Treasury: The Writings of Dr. Francisco Hern疣dez","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis volume consists of a selection of English translations from the extensive writings of Dr. Francisco Hern疣dez (1515-87). Celebrated in his own day as one of Spain's leading physicians and naturalists, he is now best remembered for his monumental work on the native plants and materia medica of central Mexico.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSent to New Spain in 1570 by King Philip II to research and describe the natural history of the region, to assess the medical usefulness of the natural resources, and to gather ethnographic materials for an anthropological history, Hern疣dez was the first trained scientist to undertake scientific work in the New World. For seven years he gathered information throughout the Valley of Mexico, learning Nahuatl, recording local medical customs, studying indigenous medicines, and writing down all his observations. The result was \u003ci\u003eThe Natural History of New Spain\u003c\/i\u003e, written in Latin, which consisted of six folio volumes filled with descriptions of over 3,000 plants previously unknown in Europe (along with descriptions of a much smaller number of animals and minerals) and ten folio volumes of paintings by Mexican artists illustrating the plants and animals he described.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHern疣dez died before he could publish his \u003ci\u003eNatural History\u003c\/i\u003e, and the materials were placed in the Escorial, where they were extensively consulted, copied, abstracted, and translated by generations of scientists, medical specialists, and natural philosophers before they were destroyed by fire in 1671. Hern疣dez's work was still regarded as authoritative on a number of New World botanical topics as late as the nineteenth century, and his writings remain in use in popular form in Mexico today.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnly a tiny fragment of the \u003ci\u003eNatural History\u003c\/i\u003e has previously appeared in English. The selections in this volume are designed to reflect the historical patterns of dissemination of the work of Hern疣dez, giving modern readers a sense of which portions of his vast corpus entered scientific discourse and spread across two continents in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon Varey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0804739633\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780804739634\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/01\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 11.00h x 8.50w x 0.75d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eScitech Book News\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2001 pg. 67","brand":"Simon Varey","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43947216109823,"sku":"9780804739634","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_02a1ea1c-7b71-457c-b4b5-832ddd41fdb6.jpg?v=1681517413","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-mexican-treasury-simon-varey-9780804739634","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}