Manuscripts Concerning Mexico and Central America in the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.
There is no doubt that manuscripts proceeding from or referring to Ibero-America which are preserved in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress constitute an interesting collection for the historian of the Hispanic world. This collection was begun in the second half of the nineteenth century when the library started to receive writings, documents, correspondence, and diverse papers relating to the past history of these northern regions and of other countries south of the frontiers of the United States. It was the moment when the North American collectors and antiquarians began to frequent the auctions of papers and books, when individuals and universities began to make their collections of material from which historians could procure documentation for their writings. The Library of Congress did not stay on the fringe of this movement, and some outstanding examples of documentation began to arrive in this depository, so much so that in 1900 the head of the Manuscript Division sent to the Congress of Americanists meeting in Paris a catalogue of the fifteen items relating to Mexico to be found under his care.