Surviving Maya books, including the Codex Nuttall, are screenfolds of animal skin or bark paper covered with a thin coat of lime plaster. In the introduction to this reproduction of a facsimile of the manuscript, author discusses the provenance of the Coded Nuttall, explains how a Maya book should be unfolded and read, describes the painting technique (which differs on obverse and reverse sides of the screenfold), and explains the iconography of the manuscript. -- AATA