Catecismo y declaracion de la Doctrina Cristiana en lengua Otomi, con un vocabulario del mismo idioma by Lopez Yepes, Joaquin - 1826

Megico: impreso en la oficina de ciudadano Alejandro Valdes, 1826. First edition, small 4to, pp. 254, [2] errata; the dictionary occupies page 93-251; 19th-century marbled wrappers; a couple of internal leaves loose (but present); otherwise a very good copy. This is James C. Pilling's copy presented to him by Wilberforfce Eames, with an inscription from Eames on the flyleaf: "J. C. Pilling with compts. of W. E." The last copy at auction was the Phillipps copy in 1988. This is an Ayer Linguistics duplicate with a withdrawn stamp on the front pastedown. "The Othomi language differs in structure from those spoken in Mexico, having more resemblance to the language of Eastern Asia than any other. [Luis de Neve y Molina] was the first to establish a proper system of characters in 1767, which has since been retained" (Sabin). It is a monosyllabic language, which today is still spoken by nearly two million inhabitants of central Mexico. "The Otomis comprise a large number of tribes occupying the plateau north of the Anahuac Sierras. They are a hardy people and are the least civilized of the four principal native races [of Mexico]" (EB). "The author was a native Mexican, and a religious of the Franciscan College at Pachuca. His vocabulary is still the most complete which has been published of this language" (Pilling, quoting the Ramirez Sale Catalogue), Ayer, Otomi, 6; La Vinaza, Bibliografia Espanola de Lenguas Indigenas de America (1892), 420; Ludewig, Literature of American Aboriginal Languages (1858), p. 141; Palau 142266; Pilling, Proof-sheets, 2316; Sabin 106013; Zaunmuller 293; not in Vancil or Trubner.