Scope and Content of Collection

There are 375 items in the collection, dating from 1888, the year Posada moved to Mexico City, until 1923, ten years after his death, during which period the prints were reissued in various contexts. There are two sets of prints done much later, as commemorative collections, one of which was published in 1943.

While the collection includes newspapers and chapbooks, the greatest portion of material consists of the half sheet and full sheet broadsides. These broadside prints cover the full range of topics Posada illustrated, from freaks of nature, to firing squads to lives of saints. Among these, thirty-three feature Posada's most famous character, the Calaveras, and fifteen feature Don Chepito. There are also five games.

Most of the material was produced for the A. Vanegas Arroyo publishing house, but there are also issues of the newspaper La Patria Ilustrada, edited by Ireneo Paz, and a chapbook series, Biblioteca del niño mexicano, published by the Maucci brothers. The collection contains no prints Posada made while working in Aguascalientes or León.

Note: cetain items encompass two series, i.e., broadside and newspaper.

Arrangement note

The prints are organized by format, and within that, arranged in rough chronological order. Many prints are not dated.

The collection is organized in four series:
Series I. Newspapers, 1880-1906
Series II. Chapbooks, ca. 1890-1923
Series III. Half sheet broadsides, ca. 1899-1943
Series IV. Full sheet broadsides, ca. 1892-ca. 1919