The cataloguer at the Clements library observes of this publication that it is “[p]ossibly the first printing in English in North America beyond the Alleghany [sic] Mts., . . . [and] almost certain[ly] . . . is the first printing in N.A. beyond the Mississippi.”

•  ESTC W41449; Medina, Mexico, 7705.   Sewn. Original plain wrappers, crumpling to corners; glue stains in gutter margins of several leaves. Now in a full, fitted red morocco tray case. In all, a rather good copy very nicely housed.  (40779)

Father of Mexican Independence

Printed on two sheets precisely glued together to form a seamless whole, in double-column format and with the woodcut seal of the Inquisition in the lower right corner of the lower edge.

Garritz located only the copy in the Biblioteca Nacional and WorldCat locates only seven U.S. institutions holding copies.

•  Garritz, Impresos novohispanos, 1137. Not in Palau; Medina, Mexico; Ziga & Espinosa, Adiciones a la imprenta en Mexico; González de Cossío, 510, or González de Cossío, Cien.   Old folds; a few small wormholes touching or costing a very few letters and one larger hole costing five letters, but not impeding reading sense. Slight discoloration along the area where the two sheets are pasted together and at points on vertical fold.  (34599)

The views begin along the Caribbean coast, move inland to Mexico City, then north, and then back to the Gulf Coast. Scenes include Campeche, Jalapa, Orizaba, Perote, Puebla, Popocatepetl, the Valley of Mexico, the Cathedral of Mexico, Veracruz, Zacatecas, a battle scene of Chapultec Castle, el Paseo, and several others.

Provenance: Bookplate (early 20th-century) of Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st and sole Baron Queenborough (1861–1949). Among his many and remarkably various interests, in all senses of that word, Lord Queenborough in a Mexican connection was president of the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico (Chihuahua and Pacific Railroad).

•  Palau 224780; Sabin 62498; Abbey, Travel, II, 671; Mayer, México ilustrado, 13–21.   The portfolio is intact and strong in good++ condition, with the plates expertly conserved and rehinged so that the volume now safely opens perfectly flat for better appreciation of the contents. Binding with some rubbing to expectable places, and spine with small rectangular area of rubbing/discoloration one inch from the bottom, possibly from an old label; corners bumped with some loss of cloth and cloth generally with light soil, a scattering of small spots, and (to back cover) a patch of old waterstaining not reaching inward. Queenborough bookplate as described to front pastedown; old abrasions and adhesions to rear endpapers. Lithographic title-page and margins of some other plates with small marginal tears at edges, nicely repaired; printed title-page with blank portion at bottom right corner (6" by 9") excised and replaced long ago; one leaf of letterpress description with similar (blank) portion excised and replaced. Text leaves and plates with only the very occasional spot of foxing or “other”; in fact a copy that isnotably appealing, and suitable both for study and for exhibition.  (27591)

We locate only the copy at Brown University.

•  As issued. Two circular wormholes, one at the left edge of the sheet and one just touching print within the outer border; pleasantly if not quite perfectly clean, and very handsome.  (30389)

Degree defense broadsides were an important source of income for Colonial-era printers in Latin America and the printers offered “package deals” to the families of the graduate and post-graduate degree postulants; the packages were geared to the students' families economic means. Broadsides could be large (folio) or small (8vo), have an engraving or not, have a border of type ornaments or not, and be printed on standard paper or colored paper (usually blue); if one splurged, one could get the announcement printed, as here, on silk. The usual total number of copies printed for each candidate is unknown at this time, but is likely to have been only one or two dozen, and we also don't know if more than one silk copy was printed when that top option was in fact ordered. In extravagant cases, one can imagine one for the degree candidate, one for the parents, one for each godparent, etc.; still, such cases would probably have been few.

Certainly, the printers would have been willing to rake in as much money as possible, on each happy occasion, and the richly beautiful silk mementos — doubtless proudly displayed for years going forward in homes or offices — would have been excellent ongoing advertisements. Equally clearly, however, the number of copies of all of the defense broadsides surviving is small, and the survival of those on silk isvery small.

No copies of this broadside are traced via the usual bibliographies, nor via NUC, WorldCat, COPAC, KVK, CCILA, CCPB, or the OPACs of CONDUMEX, the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, and the national libraries of Spain and Mexico.

•  Not in Medina, Puebla; not in Palau; not Ziga & Espinosa, Adiciones a la imprenta en Mexico; not in Garritz, Impresos novohispanos; not in Gavito, Adiciones a la Imprenta en la Puebla.   Blue-green silk with braided edges using gold and silver metallic thread, and with blue tassels incorporating silver thread and fittings attached on all corners. Minimal wear andstunningly attractive.  (34730)

•  Medina, Mexico, 79191; Palau 6095; on Alcocer, see: Archivo biográfico de España, Portugal e Iberoamérica, fiche 23, frames 47–49.   Contemporary cockled vellum, lacking the buttons for its loops, and lacking also the engraving; a very few light stains to a very few pages. Actually, quite a nice copy of the text.  (36658)

•  Stitched in wrappers with a facsimile of the title-page of the Vida del padre maestro Ignacio de Loyola on the front one; color of wrapper may vary from the one shown. New.  (40809)

We locate only two published works by Arrieta, this and a novena. Searches of NUC and WorldCat locate only four U.S. libraries reporting ownership (JCB, Bancroft, Penn, NYPL).

•  Medina, Mexico, 4978; Palau 17531; Beristain, I, p. 103; Ramirez 779; Sutro, Supplement, p. 38.   Removed from a nonce volume. Worming in upper margin and first two or three lines of text, costing letters and an occasional word; lower outer corner of all preliminary leaves silverfish-gnawed with loss of paper and some very few words of two sidenotes. A copy with condition problems, but also a copy withthe portrait printed specially in red.  (38137)

•  Medina, Mexico, 7695; Palau 20393.   Contemporary vellum over paste boards; vellum rodent gnawed with loss at fore- and bottom edges exposing underlying boards, vellum consequently a bit loose. Vellum also missing from lower two inches of spine; rear free endpaper and final blank also dined upon. Minor worming to upper inner margins, not touching text. A clean, good copy, and despite attacks on binding — solid.  (34653)

The Grandeza was Balbuena's first published work, appearing from the Ocharte press in Mexico in 1604. A descriptive epic poem about Mexico City at the close of the 16th century, paying homage to its external material aspects and to its spiritual, political, and social ones as well, it is a major work of Novohispanic literature. The Siglo de Oro was the author's second published work; it first appeared in Madrid in 1608 and is composed of a series of 12 eclogues.

Binding:  Contemporary acid-stained sheep (Valencia style) in hues of green and brown, covers with a gilt roll border and a center device of the Spanish royal coat of arms, spine gilt extra.

•  Palau 22339; Simón Díaz 2286; Maggs, Spanish Books, 71a. On Balbuena, see: Archivo biográfico de España, Portugal e Iberoamérica, fiche 90, frames 7–16.   Bound as above, joints and extremities mildly rubbed. Title-page with spots of pinhole worming, front fly-leaf with one such. Pages clean, portrait handsome.  (38393)

In this work of canon law and Catholic Church customs and practices, Baquero studies the privilege that the Bull of the Holy Crusade granted the Spanish nation regarding oratories in private residences; it applied not only to Spain but to colonies as well.

The first of three, this edition was published by “un amigo del author.” The other editions appeared in 1781 AND 1861.

Only one U.S. library reports ownership of either the 1777 or 1781 edition. It should be noted that there is NO 1771 edition, despite Palau and online cataloguing; cataloguers have simply failed to look at the last page of the supposed 1771 edition to see that the colophon is dated 1777.

This offers one very pretty large initial and some modestly nice work with type ornaments.

•  Palau 23499 (giving wrong date of publication).   Contemporary limp vellum, a bit missing from back cover; evidence of ties, and binding with light dust-soiling. Lacking rear free endpaper. A clean, nice copy.  (29596)

The present edition forms volumes 8 and 9 of the series Historia de la conquista del Nuevo Mundo.

Provenance:  Bookplate of the great 19th-century Mexican collector J. M. Andrade on the front pastedown of each volume.

•  This edition not in Sabin.   19th-century quarter red morocco with red textured cloth sides. Spine with raised bands and very good gilt tooling including center devices in spine compartments. Interiors clean. A very good set.  (25271)

•  Grajales & Burrus, Bibliografia guadalupana, 374.   Sewn as issued. Dust-soiled, especially to title-page and edges, with top and bottom edges bent. Overall a good++ copy.  (34681)

•  Medina, Mexico, 7957; Grajales & Burrus, Bibliografia guadalupana, 273; Palau 25095; Maggs, Bibl. Amer., I, 1141, and VI, 5899; Beristain, I, 141; Puttick & Simpson, Bibliotheca Mejicana, 167; Sutro, p. 33.   Contemporary acid-stained sheep (Valenciana style) with gilt spine, marbled endpapers and all edges red; fore-edge of rear cover gnawed upon by a rodent, but not too seriously. A clean, attractive copy of a book both widely and deeply interesting.  (36633)

The Spanish-language account of the burial includesa detailed description of the funeral monument (i.e., cenotaph) that the city erected for the archbishop, including the inscriptions and epigrams that were by F.J. Alegre. Following the last page of the text, there isa large folding engraved plate by Manuel Villavicencio after the design of the monument by Miguel Cabrera, “pintor americano.” The engraving is detailed, exquisite, and includes a measure of scale.

A good source for the study of Mexican colonial architecture, commemorative ceremonies, and treatment of and thinking about death.

•  Palau 6584; Medina, Mexico, 5067; DeBacker-Sommervogel, I, 153.   Contemporary vellum with remnants of ties; spine damaged with loss to hungry rodents not affecting paper. Two short tears in margin of folding plate, well away from image. A very clean, very good copy.  (36410)

Dolores Campuzano

•  Sutro 893. Removed from a nonce volume.  (3886)

•  A laced-through binding in light green heavy wrappers. As new.  (40732)