Passing over all general collections and geographical works, &c., &c., of the sixteenth century, I will mention:
"CARTAS DE INDIAS." (See Yucatan.) and the miscellaneous collections like _"Colección de Documentos inéditos para la Historia de España," begun by Navarrete_, Miguel Salvá, and Pedro Saing de Barada, in 1842, and still continued.
"_Colección de Documentos relativos al Descubrimiento, Conquista y Colonizacion de las Posesiones Españolas en América y Oceanía._" Commenced in 1864, and still continued.
(These collections contain chiefly documents from the "Real Archivo de Indias," and although they are of recent date, the papers are all from the earlier times of Spanish conquest and settlement.)
The library of the "Museo Nacional" at the City of Guatemala (la Nueva), contains the following:
RAFAEL ARÉVALO. "Libro de Actas del Ayuntamiento de la Ciudad de Guatemala." (Town book or record, from 1524 to 1530.)
"Colección de Documentos antiguos del Archivo del Ayuntamiento de la Ciudad de Guatemala."--(Both bound in one volume and published in 1856 and 1857.)
MANUSCRIPTS. "Libro segundo del Cabildo de la Ciudad de Santiago de la Provincia del Guatemala." (1530 to 1541.)
"Libro tercero de Cabildo." (1541 to 1543.)
"Historia de la Provincia de San Vicente de Chiapa y Guatemala." (Fragmentary.)
FRANCISCO HERNANDEZ, CACIQUE OF SOLOLA. (FRANCISCO ERNANDEZ ARANA XAHILA.) "Memorial," written about 1582.--Original owned by Brasseur de Bourbourg, who quotes it under the heading of "Memorial de Tèc-Pan-Atitlan."--It is one of the most important and valuable documents existing on aboriginal topics,--embodying, as it does, a statement of the conquest of Guatemala, written by a native in his own language.
"Documentos antiguos de la casa de Ixcuinte-Nèhàib."
In addition to these, I must lay particular stress on the "territorial titles" land grants, cessions, leases, or deeds to lands, still held in Guatemala,--or to whatever (if anything) may be left of their records.--Such papers contain frequently interesting, if not important references to antiquities, traditions and historical facts, also to the customs and manners of the Indians.
Among the other authorities still perhaps existing, or known to have existed, though of difficult access, I refer to those below, avoiding, of course, Linguistical works, unless they are of direct bearing on other subjects also.