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The latter part of the book offers a very brief recounting of Javier Mina, the War for Texas independence, and the U.S. intervention in the 1840s and consequent loss of California, New Mexico, etc. to the U.S.

Provenance: From the collection of Alberto Pareño, with his initials at the base of the spine.

•  Sabin 9561; Palau 37698; Bernal 4295.   20th-century red cloth, with original green printed wrappers bound in. Occasional light foxing. (21371)

The document we here offer is a cabildo (i.e., town council) act. Bernal Díaz served as a member of the cabildo of Santiago de Guatemala for a number of years, an honor bestowed on him as a conqueror and early settler of the region. In this document the cabildo acknowledges receipt of a royal decree, reads it verbatim into its minutes, and formally agrees to comply. The king writes that he is informed that the post of notary public and "del número" in Santiago is vacant because Juan Núñez de Soria, who held the royal appointment to that position, "is gone to Our kingdoms of Peru." On the advice of the Royal Audiencia (i.e., High Court) the king appoints Juan de Rojas to be notary public and "del número."

•  The document is housed in a red half morocco slipcase with an internal corset. Six small wormholes in each leaf affect one or two letters each, but not the signature of Bernal Díaz.

To aid in getting a refreshed grip on the administration of the New World, Philip IV of Spain asked Juan Díez de la Calle, a member of the Consejo de Indias, to produce a concise administrative handbook for use solely by the Council of the Indies, the King, and his close advisors. Here one finds all of the administrative divisions with dates of creation; office holders and their salaries and when the office was created; differences existing between administrative districts; and an interesting section on the various “annual” convoys (“armadas”) and the general in charge of each.

Provenance: Ownership signature at top of title-page of “Guill[er]mo Godolphin,” i.e., Sir William Godolphin.

•  Alden & Landis, European Americana, 645/45; Palau 73741; Sabin 20133.   Early limp vellum. Lacking two leaves: “Al Lector” leaf and the sectional title-leaf. A very good copy.  (25808)

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The work is illustrated with a frontispiece and three copper-engraved plates done by Louis le Grand after designs by Gravelot.

•  Sabin 20201; Palau 73986; LeClerc, Bibliotheca Americana, 3180; Barbier, Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes et pseudonymes, 1003–04.   Contemporary mottled calf, spine gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather title-label; corners, joints, and spine extremities rubbed, spine with two pinpoint holes and surface cracks to leather. Front free endpaper partially separated, with pencilled annotation on verso; inner margins of one plate and opposing page with small area of offsetting from now-absent laid-in item, pages otherwise clean. All edges marbled in blue. An attractive copy.  (25799)

Presented here is Gómez Farías’ side of things, in a very uneditorialized manner.

At the top of the title-page: “Juicio de imprenta.”

• Sewn as issued, lacking front wrapper but rear one present. A good+ copy.

Cholera became a serious problem in Mexico City and in several other places in the country in the wake of the Mexican–American War. Dr. Duck says of his reasons for writing this opusculum of medical advice, “solo me ha impulsado el deseo que tengo de auxiliar á una Nacion que me es querida.” Very rare.

•  Sutro 858; not in Palau. Author not in: Archivo biográfico de España, Portugal, e Iberoamérica; or Diccionario Porrúa de historia, biografía y geografía de México (5a ed.).   Fine condition; sewn in original cream-colored printed wrappers with elaborate, ornamental borders on both covers. Wrappers very lightly soiled; a clean, untattered copy.  (26603)

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The Selectae dissertationes mexicanae was planned as a three-volume work but only this volume was published, the other two having been left in manuscript. It was printed by the widow Hogal, who continued to maintain the high standards of printing that she established with her husband; more than one bibliographer has compared the Hogal output favorably with that of the best European contemporaries. The title-page is in black and red with the text in double-column format in roman and italic, and the whole has decent margins. The volume was intended as a university level text for the study of certain theological concepts.

Provenance:   Marca de fuego on top and bottom edges of the closed volume of the “Convento Grande de Nuestra Señora de la Merced” in Mexico City.

Very uncommon. We trace only three copies in the U.S.

•  Medina, Mexico, 3763 Palau 78637; Beristain, I, 216–21. Contemporary limp vellum with remnants of button and loop ties. Marca de fuego as noted previously. Some worming into text on pages 361–94, costing letters but not impairing sense.

The volume is illustrated with43 lithographed plates done by Weber & Co., including a portrait of “A New Mexican Indian Woman,” a fish of the Gila River, a map of “the actions fought at San Pasqual in upper California between the Americans and Mexicans Dec. 6th & 7th 1846,” and a view of cliffside hieroglyphics, as well as a series of 14 botanical images.

•  Cowan & Cowan 195; Graff 1249 (other 1848 issues only); Haferkorn 38; Howes E145; Sabin 22536 (for House ed. only); Wagner-Camp, Plains & Rockies, 148:2; Zamorano 80, 33.   Recent black cloth, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label. Oversized, folding map lacking. Plates and pages with some light to moderate foxing; one leaf with tear from upper margin, extending into text without loss. Clean, strong.  (27364)

This is the file relating to that chaplaincy and its various holders during the first 100 years of its existence. It also contains a detailed listing of the lands and messuages of the hacienda and their value as of March 1748, and a certain amount of information about the development of the hacienda in the years prior to 1748.

•  Sewn, dusty, tattered, incomplete at end. Written in a variety of easy-to-read hands. Some tears. Now housed in a simple phase box.

The volume ends with a “Corona Florida a la Santisima Trinidad,” being a small literary collection of coplas, canciones, and a romance “en Metafora del Sol, que discurre por los doce signos del Zodiaco.”

Binding: Publisher's mottled sheep, gilt spine extra. Marbled endpapers; all edges red.

•  Medina, Mexico, 8016.   Binding lightly worn. A few gatherings starting to extrude. A very good, clean copy.  (26851)

•  Sabin 24819; Medina, Mexico, 4246; DeBacker-Sommervogel, III, 799; Grajales & Burrus, Bibliografia guadalupana, 169; Palau 92355.   Contemporary limp vellum with remnants of button and loop closures; text block starting to separate from binding at the title-page. Light waterstaining to final seven leaves, chiefly in margins; one limited semicircular stain appearing in the top margins of the first portion, with occasional stains (only) otherwise.  (29426)

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We trace only two copies in the U.S.

•  Medina, Mexico, 10458; Garritz, Impresos novohispanos, 703.   Uncut copy. Removed from a nonce volume. Very clean, very good.  (27536)

•  Medina, Mexico, 10371; Sutro 74; Garritz, Impresos novohispanos, 685.   Removed from a nonce volume; some leaves starting to separate. Clean. A good++ copy.  (27535)

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A scarce work, having been printed in a limited number of copies for the very limited-sized audience of Franciscan novices.

•  Medina, Mexico, 5761.   Contemporary limp vellum. Very clean and crisp. A truly excellent copy.  (22204)

•  Medina, Mexico, 7061; Palau 204344.   Contemporary limp vellum, ties perished; text block loosened from binding. Unidentified marca de fuego on upper and lower edges of closed volume. Worming in some margins and into text with loss of letters and some words, repaired with archival tissue. A less than pristine copy, but copies are scarce on the market in any condition.  (28206)

A special issue copy: Present here is an uncalled-for frontispiece. It is of four Capuchin martyrs, is signed by the artist Navarro, is engraved on copper, and is printed au sanguine -- the color reserved for only the most special copies of 18th-century books. This frontispiece is not called for by Medina and is not present in any of the copies reported as held in the U.S.

•  Medina, Mexico, 4991; Palau 45600; Sabin 11098; Maggs, Bibliotheca Asiatica, 611.   Full antique calf, spine gilt, leather label. Slight worming to late leaves, repaired with tape in an inoffensive fashion. Quite a good copy.  (12725)