Septenario Devoto, con Que Pueden los Devotos de Maria Santisima Acompañarla en los Dulces Afectos... [bound with]: Triduo Previo a la Festividad del Nombre Dulcisimo de Jesus... [with]: [Vintage Copper Printing Plate Used in the Septenario Devoto] by [Mexico]. [Religion] - 1810

Mexico City, 1810. Good plus.. 54;[26];15pp., plus copper plate measuring 3.25 x 2.25 inches. 18mo. Contemporary speckled calf, spine gilt tooled. Light wear to spine and edges. Moderate worming, light tanning. Two rare Mexican devotional tracts dating to the turn of the 19th century. As bound herein, the first is a manual containing ritual contemplation and prayer for seven days of veneration for the Virgin Mary. This work was printed by Maria Fernandez de Jauregui, likely in the first decade of the 1800s. The second work comprises instructions for a triduum (three days of ritual and prayer) associated with the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus celebrated in January by the Roman Catholic Church, published in 1797 by José Fernandez de Jauregui. He published small works such as these and performed other job printing until the end of the 18th century, at which point he apparently died and his widow, the publisher of the first work bound here, took over the business. Although the tract published by her is undated, all recorded works published by Maria Fernandez de Jauregui date to the first two decades of the 1800s. OCLC locates one copy of the later tract, at the Bibliotheca Nacional de Chile, and none of the earlier work, though Medina recorded both. Also present is a small Spanish work, published in Valencia circa 1802, that prints several Catholic deathbed prayers, of which we trace no record.

Of surpassing interest is the survival and accompaniment of the copper plate used to illustrate the first work bound in this small sammelband. The illustration, a bit crude but still quite charming, depicts the Virgin Mary surrounded by various Catholic symbols, and in the tract is printed on the leaf between the title page and the main text. Plates for works such as this do not often remain intact, with the metal either being repurposed after use or the plate being printed until it became unusable.

A lovely pair of rare Mexican imprints in a contemporary binding, accompanied by the engraving plate used to illustrate the first work. Taken together, this pair of objects presents a valuable opportunity both for exhibitions and teaching in this area of book history.
Medina, Mexico 12252 & 8715.