The Invention of Nature

These two volumes were the most lavish of Humboldt’s publications. They contained sixty-nine engravings of Chimborazo, Inca ruins, Aztec manuscripts and Mexican calendars – of which twenty-three were coloured. Vues des Cordillères was published in Paris in seven instalments between 1810 and 1813 as a large folio edition. Depending on the paper quality the price was either 504 francs or 764 francs. Only two of the instalments were translated into German in 1810. Like Personal Narrative, the English translation of Vues des Cordillères was done by Helen Maria Williams and overseen by Humboldt. It was published in Britain in 1814 as a less monumental two-volume octavo edition which included all the text but only twenty engravings. The English title was Researches concerning the Institutions & Monuments of the Ancient Inhabitants of America with Descriptions & Views of some of the most Striking Scenes in the Cordilleras! – the exclamation mark was part of the title.

Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent during the years 1799–1804

Humboldt’s seven-volume travel account of the expedition in Latin America was part travelogue, part science book, following Humboldt’s and Bonpland’s voyage chronologically. Humboldt never finished it. The last volume ended with their arrival at the Río Magdalena on 20 April 1801 – not even half of the expedition. It was first published in France in a quarto edition under the title Voyage aux régions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent fit en 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804 (with volumes published from 1814 to 1831) and then followed by a smaller and much cheaper octavo edition (1816–31). Prices ranged from 7 francs to 234 francs per volume. Depending on the edition, it was also sold as a three-volume publication. It was almost immediately published in England as Personal Narrative (1814–29), translated by Helen Maria Williams who lived in Paris and who worked closely with Humboldt. In 1852 a new English edition (an unauthorized translation by Thomasina Ross) was published. Also unauthorized was the German translation which was published between 1818 and 1832. On 20 January 1840 Humboldt told his German publisher that he had never even seen the German edition, and later – once he had read it – complained that the translation was terrible.

Confusingly, the last volume was also published as a separate book as Essai politique sur l’île de Cuba

in 1826 – translated as Political Essay on the Island of Cuba.

Political Essay on the Island of Cuba

Humboldt’s detailed account of Cuba was first published in French in 1826 as Essai politique sur l’île de Cuba and as part of

Voyage aux régions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent fit en 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804 (or Personal Narrative in English). It was densely packed with information on climate, agriculture, ports, demographics as well as economic data such as import and exports – including Humboldt’s scathing criticism of slavery. It was also translated into Spanish in 1827. The first English translation (by J.S. Thrasher) was published in the United States in 1856 and did not include Humboldt’s chapter on slavery.

Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain

Humboldt’s portrait of the Spanish colonies was based on his own observations but also his archival research in Mexico City. Like the Political Essay on the Island of Cuba

, it was a handbook of facts, hard data and statistics. Humboldt wove together information on geography, plants, agriculture, manufacturing and mines but also on demographics and economics. It was first published in French as Essai politique sur le royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne between 1808 and 1811 (in two volumes as a quarto edition and five volumes for the octavo edition). It went through several updated editions. A German translation was published between 1809 and 1814. The English translation was completed in 1811 as Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain in four volumes. A Spanish translation was published in 1822.

Other Publications

Fragmens de géologie et de climatologie asiatiques