Spanish, South American, and Mexican Rarities from Libreria de Antano
(mostly) Americana & Hispanica and 30 mexican rarities.
By Michael Stillman
Libreria de Antano has issued a catalogue of (mostly) Americana and Hispanica. It comes with a smaller insert of 30 Mexican rarities. These works, as the title suggests, come (mostly) from Spain and the Spanish colonies (or former colonies) in the New World. The non-mostlies are an occasional item in French, Portuguese, or English. Now, here are a few items that take us from Spain to South America, Central America, Mexico and what is now the U.S. Southwest.
Item 24 touches on what is now the American Southwest: Real Ordenanza para el establecimiento e instruccion de Intendentes de Exercito y Provincia en el Reino de la Nueva Espana. Published in 1786, this was a reorganization of the laws for the provinces of Mexico. These, then, were the laws for what is today California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona for the three-plus decades that followed until Spanish rule was overthrown in 1821. Priced at $7,500.
Item 40 is a most unusual collection of documents for those with an interest in medicine, although you may not want to rely on all of the conclusions. Offered is a group of 49 medical dissertations from 1830-1850 printed in Brazil. These theses cover many topics, including heart disease, amputation, abortion, hypochondria, hemorrhoids, phrenology, elephantiasis, nostalgia and diseases of literary people (writer's block?). You can be sure these 49 writers went through much effort and anxiety on the way to creating these long forgotten reports. $2,800.
Item 27 is a detailed early history of the Chilean island province of Chiloe. Consisting of the island of Chiloe and several smaller ones off the coast of southern Chile, its lack of natural resources discouraged early development. The island was claimed by the Spanish in the mid-16th century, but its major use was agricultural. Its most noted crop is potatoes, with sizable production of apples and strawberries as well. This Descripcion historial de la provincia y archipielago de Chiloe en el reyno de Chile… by Father Pedro Gonzalez de Agueros was published in 1791. It tells all about native customs, culture, commerce, agriculture and more. Chiloe would be something of a last stand for the Spanish when they were thrown out of Chile three decades later, but eventually the colonial power would cede Chiloe to the new independent government. $6,800.
Item 10 is a very neatly written calligraphic manuscript from 1745. It is headed Coronica y not, de algunas cosas universales y particulares de Mundo. It was evidently copied by a seminary student from Quito, Ecuador. It consists of an account of the English attack on Panama, the Cotopaxi volcano, and much religious material. The material was probably copied from other works to provide material for the writer's own use plus providing practice in calligraphic writing. $3,500.
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Spanish, South American, and Mexican Rarities from Libreria de Antano
Calligraphic manuscript from 18th century Ecuador.
Item 31 is a history of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe by Ignacio Carrillo y Perez: Pensil Americano florido en el rigor del invierno, la Imagen di Maria Santisima de Guapalupe. Published in 1797, this book recounts the history of the vision of Our Lady and the building of the sanctuary and later structures in her honor. According to the story, Juan Diego, a Mexican Indian and recent convert to Catholicism, saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary on a hilltop. Mary instructed him to have the local bishop build a small sanctuary on the spot, but when Juan Diego followed the instructions, the Bishop informed him that he would need a sign. That would come when, in a later meeting, Mary provided Juan Diego with Spanish roses in the dead of winter, and also an image on a cloth. Juan Diego saw his vision in 1531, and over the next six years, it would inspire massive conversions to Catholicism among native Indians and a merging of Spanish and native culture. Almost five centuries later, in 2002, Juan Diego was canonized as an American saint. $2,500.
The smaller insert of 30 Mexican rarities includes such items as a 1783 edition of Antonio de Solis' Historia de la conquista de Mexico, one of the best histories of Cortes' conquest of Mexico, and an 1868 calendar honoring the memory of Emperor Maximillian, a surprising Mexican imprint for the time since he had recently been overthrown and executed (Calendario historico de Maximiliano para el ano de 1868).
Libreria de Antano may be reached at (5411) 4822-7178 or info@antano.com.ar.
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