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A New Bishop for Buenos Aires —Manuscript Decree

•  Decree confirming Pedro Inocencio Bejarano as bishop of Buenos Aires, succeeding the late Manuel de Azamor y Ramírez. Written in a cursive hand. With, in addition to the stamped royal signature, those of various witnesses.

•  Stitched.

One of CHILE’s“Padres de la Patria”
    ALS with anEdgar Allan Poe Connection

Click the image for an enlargement.

•  Carrera writes of events in Uruguay, of war news from Peru, of O’Higgins, of various family members and acquaintances who remain prisoners, and of the cabildo elections in Buenos Aires.

Writer Carrera:  From one of the leading families of Chile, José Miguel Carrera led the successful coup de etat of 15 November 1811 that overthrew the Junta de Gobierno that was established in the political void after the capture of the king of Spain. As sole leader of the nation he created the first Chilean constitution, designed the first Chilean flag and coat of arms, and was responsible for bringing the first printing press to Chile. Disagreement with the Lautaro Lodge of the Masons led to his overthrow by Bernardo O’Higgins and the rift never healed, eventually leading to Carrera’s exile in Argentina, the U.S., and later Uruguay. His brothers fell into the hands of O’Higgins who had them executed.

Recipient Didier:  Henry Didier was the godfather of Edgar Allan Poe’s older brother, William Henry; he was to take the boy into his home for some years, though accounts differ as to whether this happened immediately after the death of the Poe children's parents (1811) or after the death of their guardian grandfather (1816). He ran a counting house in Baltimore and William Henry worked there as a young man. Though the Poe brothers' intimacy varied due to circumstances over the years, clearly Edgar knew Didier; he would surely have visited his brother at the Didier house.

On Uruguay:  “Las cosas continuan en el mismo estado. Los Portugueses no han recivido refuerzo despues de los 500 Pernambucanos. Artigas se mantiene firme, esta guarnicion no se mueve. El Rey ha escrito para que el Gobierno de Buenos Ayres se desida.”

On Argentina: “Buenos Ayres continua tranquilo, está entretenido en la eleccion del nuevo cavildo que se verificará a fines del presente.”

On Peru:  “En el Perú no hay novedad considerable. [L]os españoles tienenel aquella costa 11 buques de guerra, inclusas dos de 44, pero esto no estorbó al Berg.n chileno el Aguila. . . . No pasa de 9000 veteranos el Ex[erci]to en aquel pais, aseguran que llegando los buques de guerra de Estados Unidos piensan atacar a Arequipa y seguir a Lima; no lo creo por ahora.”

On O’Higgins: “O’Higgins sigue mandando el Ex[erci]to y Brayer es sus m[ay]or gene]ral. — Pueyrredon ha mandado a esta un comisionado para que alcance de Leon que se me eche de aqui; Leon constante en su amistad y systema se negó despresiando al comisionado.”

On Prisoners: “Mi viejo Padre, 85 años de edad, ha estado incomunicado 17 dias, y ultimamente sigue su arresto en casa. . . . Mis hermanos presos aun, y lo mismo muchos de nuestros compatriotas. . . . Mr. Handle continua en su prision con todos sus oficiales y tripulacion.”

•  Very good condition. Written in a very clear hand.  (24646)

Colonial Services Recounted

•  Carrillo was not only a colonel and maestre de campo, he also served as the Chief Secretary of the South Sea (Secretario Mayor de la Mar del Sur); in this latter capacity, his role was crucial in the Spanish coastal defenses against the English during great raiding year of 1740. He also participated in several naval battles in the Pacific during that same year.

•  Palau 259482; not in Alden & Landis, European Americana. Folded with small tear into first line of text.

[AND] Carrillo de Albornoz, Juan Bautista. [drop-title] Relacion de los meritos, y servicios del theniente de infanteria Don Juan Bautista Carrillo de Albornòz, natural de la Ciudad de Lima. [Madrid, 1757]. Folio. [2] ff. (final a blank).
$165.00

•  Juan Carrillo succeeded his father, Diego Carrillo, to the title of conde de Montemar, and in this biographical sketch his service to the Crown seems to have just begun, for he plays more heavily on genealogy and current family connections than on actual service. Francisco Eduardo Paniagua certifies the accuracy of the document and signs it at the end.

•  Palau 259571. Folded as issued.

First Printing in Latin America — Montes de Oca Engraved Title

Click the title-page image above for an enlargement.

•  The first printing in Hispanic America of Father Las Casas's 1552 classic treatise (originally, Brevissima relacion de la destruycion de las Indias) on the Indians of the New World and the need to recognize their rights as humans: Presented as part of his famous debate(s) with Ginés de Sepúlveda, who unsuccessfully argued the other side. This is a reprinting of the Philadelphia edition of 1821, which was in Spanish for distribution in Latin America.

This edition begins with a handsome engraved title by the famous Mexican engraver Luis Montes de Oca, signed in the lower left corner and bearing the Mexican national emblem in the lower center of the plate. This is one of the first appearances of that emblem, and it is most fitting that it be the work of this artist.

Provenance:  Bookplate of the famous 19th-century Mexican collector, bibliographer, and historian of the book, Joaquín García Icazbalceta.

•  Palau 46951.   19th-century quarter black morocco with marbled paper sides; spine tooled in gilt to replicate a raised-band spine with spine compartments; two small abrasions. Interior with light, scattered foxing only. A lovely little book. (25216)

Legal Age for Marrying

•  Clarification of an earlier royal decree concerning legal marriage age for “españoles” outside of Spain (and who were not orphans) was required and obtained from the courts. Now the king orders local officials in the Spanish Empire to obey and publish the original decree with its amendments.

Signed by the crown with a wooden stamp, “Yo el Rey.”

This copy sent to Santiago, Chile, and docketed there.

•  Removed from a nonce volume. Clean and untattered.  (25817)

Early Commercial Law ofChile

•  This is the law that reformed Chile's comprehensive structure for imposing and collecting import and export duties, regulating internal commerce, and protecting national industries. All Chilean imprints of the pre-1830 era are scarce, and early laws are rare. Searches of OCLC and RLIN locates only three copies in the U.S., and some have slightly different pagination.

•  Briseño, I, 294. Not in Palau. Modern wrappers. Small brown stain on last few leaves. A very good copy.

“The most important documentary collection for colonial Spanish America”

•  Woodrow Borah writing in Latin America: A guide to the historical literature (a.k.a., “the Griffin guide”) declares, “This is the most important documentary collection for colonial Spanish America, an invaluable source, especially for materials pertaining to the sixteenth century.” The data on AmerIndians, customs, early contact, etc., is outstanding.

A mixed set in mixed bindings: all volumes except 11 are first editions, the exception being a 1966 reprint. Many original wrappers bound in. Volumes 1–10 in early quarter cloth, 11–42 in modern full cloth.

•  Griffin, Latin America: A guide to the historical literature, 2063; Palau 56442.   Bindings as above: Vols. 1–10 with abrasion/discoloration to spines, otherwise minor wear; moderate foxing, and some early annotations. Vols. 11–42, cloth bright; mostly clean internally, last 2 pages of last volume supplied in facsimile. Vol. 38 lacking fascicles 3, 4, 5, and 6.  (25828)

The Constitution that Came Out of“The War of the Supremes”

•  “Edicion oficial” of the constitution that came out of “The War of the Supremes” (1839–42) and reacted to the decentralization of the 1832 constitution that followed the break up of Gran Colombia with Venezuela and Ecuador going their own ways. This new constitution centralized power in the president, who was granted unlimited authority. Click the images for enlargements.

There were two editions of the constitution in 1843: This one, and another that extended to 27 pages.

•  Not in Palau.   Original printed wrappers, small strip excised from blank area at top of front wrapper. Few dust smudges on wrappers. Very good copy. (15169)

“Official Edition” — AHuman Rights Milestone

•  “Edicion oficial” of the first Colombian constitution to rebel against the stringent control of the 1843 document that centralized power in the president. This compact is notable for its many liberal reforms, such as abolition of slavery, establishment of freedom of the press, and creation of separation of church and state. Click the images for enlargements.

There were two editions in 1853, the other being 24 pages in length.

•  Palau 59737. Original printed yellow wrappers, creased and a little dusty. Very good condition.

For other ABOLITION items,  click here.
For a short “shelf” devoted to
                    FREE PRESS/SPEECH —
            click here.
For HUMAN RIGHTS more
        generally,  click here.

A Proto-Constitution — COLOMBIA

•  A proposed constitution for a loose confederation with each state sovereign and decisions being made by an executive committee composed of one representative of each state. We fail to find evidence that this constitution ever went into effect. This is, however, clearly a precusor to the 1863 constitution and its loose federalism with quasi-independent state governments.

Not in OCLC.

•  Not in Palau. Original printed green wrappers. Waterstaining to inner area of wrappers, same faintly visible in one area of title-page.

Rionegro Printing — NO Library Copies Found

•  The political pendulum swung to the liberals in 1863 and a new constitution was promulgated at Rionegro which was to last until 1886. It renamed the nation the United States of Colombia, gave to the states all powers not reserved to the central government, contained fully defined individual liberties and guarantees, and guaranteed Colombians full religious freedom.
Click the image for an enlargement.

This is the first printing of that new liberal constitution, from the small press in the out-of-the-way town of Rionegro. It is very rare: We trace no copies via OCLC, RLIN, or NUC. Further, searches of the OPACs of the National Library of Colombia and of the universities of Cali and the Andes failed to locate a copy.

•  Not in Palau. Original wrappers, much dog-eared as are the text leaves. Old, mostly faint waterstaining. Withall, a good copy.

Very Early Printing of the 1863 Constitution

•  The period 1840–1880 in Colombian political history was characterized by swings between ascensions of the Liberals and of the Conservatives, the Liberals ruling without serious challenge in the last two decades of that period.

This publication contains the Constitution of 1863 as ratified by the Ríonegro Convention as well as most of the other legislation that the Convention adopted. The constitution incorporated many anti-clerical measures, including: separation of Church and state; full freedom of worship, even for non-Catholics; suppression of religious orders; prohibition of corporate ownership of real property (which amounted to prohibition of Church ownership of property); and governmental supervision of worship. The document also thoroughly decentralized power and made each state a virtual law unto itself.

In an attempt to curb the power of Gen. Mosquera, the presidency was made an office of two-year duration, and immediate re-election or succession was barred.

IMPORTANT AND RARE: NUC Pre-1956 fails to locate any copies, and RLIN finds only one copy (SUNY-Buffalo).

•  Removed from a volume of pamphlets and now in later wrappers. Ownership mark eradicated from title-page. A very good copy of a rare item.

University Matters

•  President Alcántara Harrán's reorganization of the universities.

•  Printed wrappers, sewn as issued. Covers dust-soiled, pages a little dog-eared; signature on front wrapper. Manuscript index at end.

Saints ofSIENNA — A South American Martyr

Click the interior images for enlargements.

•  Saints can be quite a matter of local pride, and the Fasti Senenses, compiled by two Jesuits, Sebastiano Conti (1623–96) and Giambattista Ferrari (1584–1655), is a collection of biographies of the Sienese saints, blesseds, and servants of God, arranged chronologically according to their feast days on the local calendar. Entries range from St. Ansanus, a martyr under Diocletian and patron of Siena, toa South American martyr, Horatio de Vecchi, S.J., and include the most famous of Sienese saints, St. Catherine (not the only woman found herein).

The detailed engraved frontispiece, by “Gio. Batta Sintes” after “Nicolo Gadim,” shows St. Catherine leading Pope Gregory XI back into Rome after his decision to leave Avignon. There are also two finely engraved plates by Guillaume Vallet. The first, after Raphael Vanni, shows the B.V.M. looking down with favor on an allegorical figure of Siena. The other, after Carlo Maratta, shows (under the title of this work) a woman watering the tree of the arts from which cherubs gather fruit. This is the first of two editions, a second having appeared in 1669. It is handsomely printed in a large roman type with a few woodcut historiated initials and a tailpiece, and it is rare.We find only two copies reported.

Provenance:  Huge (27.8 x 18.3 cm, 11" x 7.25") armorial bookplate of “William Stirling Maxwell” on the front pastedown; his arms also appearing as a supra-libros stamped in blind on the front cover, and his monogram similarly stamped on the rear cover.

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel, II, 1390–91 & III, 678 (imprint and authorship information found here). Vellum with two forms of supra-libros as above, rebacked in leather toned to approximate vellum with gilt-stamped maroon leather title-label and gilt-dotted raised bands; boards slightly sprung, edges rubbed, vellum lightly soiled around edges. Pencilled notations on recto of front pastedown, and further notation, in ink and denoting authorship, on verso of front free endpaper. Pages lightly cockled; occasional foxing and soiling; all edges speckled red. (4203)

The“First First” among
      STATE Constitutions . . .

•  First printing of the first state constitution for any Latin American nation, in this case for the state in which Bogotá is located. This was written during the early, uncertain days of the Napoleonic occupation of the Spanish peninsula and captivity of the Spanish king. Political matters were wild and wooly with some viceroyalties experiencing harsh rule while others began to experience first experiments in self-government and democracy.
Click the images for enlargements.

•  Posada, Bibliografia bogotana, 231; Palau 59632. Sewn as issued, without the wrappers. Minor soiling to title-page and last (blank) page. Old inked numbers at top of title-page. A very good copy.

TO Part III . . .

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