Item #10519 Tropical Tours to Toltec Towns in Mexico Presented With Compliments of the Mexican National R. R. The Shortest, Quickest and Most Picturesque Route Between Mexico and the United States.
Tropical Tours to Toltec Towns in Mexico Presented With Compliments of the Mexican National R. R. The Shortest, Quickest and Most Picturesque Route Between Mexico and the United States.
Tropical Tours to Toltec Towns in Mexico Presented With Compliments of the Mexican National R. R. The Shortest, Quickest and Most Picturesque Route Between Mexico and the United States.
Tropical Tours to Toltec Towns in Mexico Presented With Compliments of the Mexican National R. R. The Shortest, Quickest and Most Picturesque Route Between Mexico and the United States.
Tropical Tours to Toltec Towns in Mexico Presented With Compliments of the Mexican National R. R. The Shortest, Quickest and Most Picturesque Route Between Mexico and the United States.

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Tropical Tours to Toltec Towns in Mexico Presented With Compliments of the Mexican National R. R. The Shortest, Quickest and Most Picturesque Route Between Mexico and the United States.

[New York?]; Mexican National Railroad, 1893. 16mo (6.75” x 5”), light gray pictorial wrappers with brown printed text. 60 pp., [4] pp. Numerous b&w illus., 2 full-page maps. CONDITION: Wrappers detached as a single unit, 2” split along spine, minor wear and foxing to wrappers, contents good.

An English-language travel guide published by the Mexican National Railroad, tracing the journey “from the border to the capital” along the Laredo Route. 

Leaning into exotic preconceptions, this booklet markets Mexico to American tourists as an unparalleled land of beauty, history, and culture—all made accessible courtesy of the Mexican National Railroad. The introduction describes the country as an inverted cornucopia ready to “pour out its treasures of climate, scenic beauty, antiquity, legends and commercial wealth for our [American] delectation and to the prosperity of its people and ours.” The guide includes numerous images (both photographic and illustrated) showing local people, landscapes, architecture, street views, traditional technology, and agriculture, including many views of the railroad. Despite the alliterative title, it is not a guide exclusive to Toltec sites, but a general one of the region. 

The route begins on the border in Laredo, Texas and proceeds southward through Monterey and Saltillo before crossing the Tropic of Cancer (made visible by a large sign courtesy of the MNRR). Travelers then continue through historical silver-mining towns, including San Luis Potosí, and on to San Miguel de Allende and Toluca before arriving in Mexico City. A short western spur gives visitors the option to travel to Morelia. The latter part of the guide focuses on the capital region, offering suggestions for day trips and excursions in and around Mexico City. Additional information about currency exchange, hotels and restaurants, and souvenirs is provided near the end, along with a distance table, index, and two maps showing the Laredo Route and greater Mexico City. Contact information for American and Mexican agents can be found on the final page. 

The Mexican National Railroad (Ferrocarril Nacional Mexicano, not to be confused with other similarly-named entities) was a private company that operated one of the first rail connections between Mexico City and the U.S. border (the “Laredo Route”), along with the Mexican Central Railroad to El Paso. Construction began in the early 1880s and was supported by American capital. In 1908, the company was consolidated into Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México, in which the Mexican government held a controlling interest, and which was fully nationalized in the 1930s. 

Printer Charles G. Crawford of New York was active in the 1880s and 1890s, specializing in railroad maps and related materials.

REFERENCES: Schmal, John. “The Railroad as a Catalyst for Mexican Immigration (1877-1927)” at Indigenous Mexico online. 

Item #10519

On Hold

Price: $250.00

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