With the 1924 purchase of William Gates’ collection of rare books and manuscripts and the establishment of the Department of Middle American Research (DMAR), Tulane was poised to become a leading center for Mesoamerican studies. The collection was rich in original material relating to Indigenous societies and included early Spanish accounts of the encounter, particularly those with extended discussions of Native American societies.
A linguist with a passion for Mesoamerican languages and writings, especially Maya hieroglyphics, Gates had set out to collect every extant piece of writing on the subject by buying original manuscripts and published books or by obtaining reproductions. His library was ultimately dispersed among several repositories. The Tulane collection provides a fascinating window into Gates’ tenacious collecting habits.
As he crisscrossed the dusty back roads of Mexico on horseback in 1917 searching for treasures, Gates also acquired newspapers, photographs, and ephemera documenting the ongoing Mexican Revolution. Through strategic acquisitions and careful curation under his successor, archaeologist Frans Blom, the library’s holdings expanded beyond Gates’ initial focus to support the activities of a first-rate research center.