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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.

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.

The engravings in this volume include portraits of “Bias[s]ou,” Toussaint L'Ouverture, Christobal, and Dessalines. Three of the plates offer significant hand coloring and one, hand-colored highlighting. The plates were engraved by Manuel López López after his own drawings.

Provenance:  Bookplate of Mexican collector Alberto María Carreña; later rubber-stamp of José Ambrosi Carraro.

An important Afro-Mexicanum, illustrated book, and anti-French publication in the years leading up to the French invasion of the Spanish peninsula.

•  Medina, Mexico, 9860.   Publisher's acid-stained tan sheep; round spine with triple gilt fillets used to form spine “compartments,” each compartment with a gilt floral device in the center. A very, very nice and special copy.  (22316)

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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 one copy in the U.S., at the University of Texas.

•  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.

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.

In addition to recounting the Juan Diego story, Florencia examines the reliability of published accounts relating to the Virgin, discusses alleged later appearances, epitomizes the character of Juan Diego, and canvasses many other aspects of the Guadalupe legend. He also proposes the context for a novena in her honor.

•  European Americana 741/85; Palau 92342 (the reported 1714 edition is a ghost, there having been a typographical error of 1714 for 1741 in the Robredo catalogue); DeBacker-Sommervogel, III, 796–97; Sabin 24807; Grajales & Burrus 141 (erroneously giving place of printing as Mexico!).   Contemporary limp vellum, lacking ties; text block loose in binding. Lacking title-page but a copy of the 1785 title-supplied instead; title tattered, soiled and loose. Lacks also the first five preliminary leaves, and a heavily dog-eared copy. Some old pen trials here and there in blank areas.  Definitely one for a “busted bibliophile.”  (24393)

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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)

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•  Not in Palau; not in Medina, BHA. Removed from a nonce volume. Title-page with shadow of pencilled numeral in upper margin; one leaf with institutional pressure stamp. Most leaves with old damage to outer margins, repaired of old in most instances, with loss of some words or letters from a number of shouldernotes; a few instances of early inked bracketing.

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)