Carlos Mérida. Guatemala, C.A.: Editado y litografiado por Byron Zadik y Cía., [circa 1940s].
A complete and near fine portfolio of Carlos Mérida’s Trajes Indígenas de Guatemala, comprising 10 vibrant color lithographs depicting traditional Indigenous dress from various regions of Guatemala. Each plate combines Mérida’s hallmark modernist style with folkloric symbolism, reflecting his lifelong engagement with pre-Columbian culture and European abstraction.
Housed in the original printed portfolio cover with decorative lithographed title, contained within the original publisher’s box, with the original purple cord intact—an uncommon survival. Lithographs are exceptionally well-preserved, bright and clean, with only minor signs of age. All internal elements are present and in near fine condition.
This portfolio is notably rare:
Produced in a limited edition, likely under 500 copies.
Few if any complete sets remain in circulation, especially those retaining the original box, folder, and string.
Only a handful of known institutional/museum holdings exist; most copies appear incomplete or significantly aged.
Complete, well-preserved sets such as this are seldom seen on the market.
A significant and increasingly sought-after work from Mérida’s mid-career period—an intersection of Mexican muralism, European Cubism, and Indigenous Guatemalan identity.
