Search Results: Mexico from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

Mexico: Libros y Revistas, 1944. Later printing. Pamphlet. Very good. Fifty-eight cocktails and ninety-two recipes for hors d'oeuvres, named and identified by number. The cocktails are mostly based on European spirits-gin, cognac, whisky-but in unusual combinations. The champagne cocktail (no. 101) combines champagne, 8 drops of nocino (licor de nueces verdes), Cointreau, lemon peel, a pinch of nutmeg, and a whole egg. The Manhattan Cocktail (no. 125) has a connection to Jerry Thomas's recipe, but not in the standard proportions as it combines equal parts vermouth, whisky, and curacao over crushed ice. There are at least two tequila cocktails, the Tequila Cocktail (no. 141), combining tequila, grenadine, lemon juice and "ajenjo", which means wormwood and may be absinthe. The second, the Pancho Villa, is tequila, vermouth, sugar, and vainilla. A few of the hors d'oeuvres use Mexican ingredients, like chiles and avocados, but many use canned goods or basic ingredients available anywhere. 80 pages.… Read More

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1842. First Edition. Ephemera. Fine. The House of Representatives prints a petition to the US Congress by the state of Kentucky to make known any information about the detention of members of the Texan-Santa Fe expedition. "It appears from authentic information that citizens of the United States, with passports from their government, duly authenticated, in going from Texas to Santa Fe, with legitimate and peaceful intentions, offering no resistance, have been arrested by a military force of Mexicans, a portion put to death in the most perfidious manner, whilst others in manacles were... driven as beasts rather than human beings from the place of their capture to the City of Mexico." This resolution exaggerates the case, but it shows how blurred the lines were between the US and the Republic of Texas, which organized the venture in an attempt to control trading routes (in Mexican territory) to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The government later reported that they were aware of only… Read More

México [Mexico City]: Tip. de la Viuda é Hijos de Murguia, 1878. First Edition. Pamphlet. A fortune-telling system "fixed to the meridian of Mexico" [Arreglado al meridiano de México]. Ca. 71 pages. 5-1/4 by 3-5/16 inches. Corner missing from front cover, not affecting any text, but generally very good.

Mexico, DF: Editorial Latitudes, 1978. First Edition. Trade Paperback. Fine. 31 pages. Poems, with a long introduction by the author. Coleccio el pozo y el pendulo, no. V. The series was edited by the Mexican American poet Ernesto Trejo. Published in an edition of 1000 copies. First edition (first printing). A fine copy in wrappers (paperback).

[Mexico], 1898. A manuscript catalog of a career Mexican military officer's library, totalling more than about 650 works in 600 volumes, numbered and organized by subject. The list includes the title, author, and in some cases observations on each book, along with their series and identification numbers. Not surprisingly, the largest section of the library was devoted to books on military subjects (more than 230) and engineering (66). Among the literary titles were many works by Victor Hugo and Emile Zola. The catalog is handwritten in a 6 by 3-1/2 inch (oblong) lined notebook. The pages are gridded horizontally, with ten volumes listed per page spread. The leather covers are partially detached from the page block, else very good.

Mexico: Tipografia de J. Rivera, Hijo y Compañía, 1871. First Edition. Very good. A Spanish translation of Great European Conflict. Franco-Prussian War: Chassepot - Rifle vs. Zundnadelgewehr, or the Needle Gun: Real Cause of the Struggle by a Mexican army general. 208 pages plus four inserted lithographic portraits of the leaders of the conflict (including Napoleon III and Otto von Bismarck), with a folding bird's-eye view of the defenses around Paris and a folding map of the theater of war. First edition (of this translation). Bound in full Mexican purple leather stamped with geometric designs. Spine faded to brown.

Mexico, DF: Editorial Latitudes, 1978. First Edition. Trade Paperback. Fine. 79 pages. 4 by 6-1/2 inches. A posthumous selection of Pellicer's (1897-1977) poems published as Coleccion el pozo y el pendulo, X. This series was edited by the Mexican American poet, Ernesto Trejo. An edition of 1000 copies. First edition (first printing). A fine copy in wrappers (paperback).

Mexico: Imprenta de I. Cumplido, 1874. Hardcover. Good. A rather curious book. Published a few years after the emperor Maximilian I, who hade been installed by the French, was deposed and executed, I originally thought this was bit of anti-French propaganda. The catalog of the Biblioteca Nacional de Mexico (edited by José Vigil, 1890) attributes the book to the French journalist Clément Bertie-Marriott. However, it turns out to be a reprint of an 1855 book from the same publishers, issued under the title Las prisiones del estado, published in 1855. The two volumes collect five long histories of French prisons. The three pieces in the second volume all turn out to be unattributed bootlegs of Alexandre Dumas (père) novels. I was unable to identify the source of the chapter on the Bastille, in volume one. The second part of volume one is Camille Leynadier's Le donjon de Vincennes. viii, 258, 270 pages. Good copies in typically Mexican quarter-leather bindings of the period. Heavily worn at the edges.

Mexico: Ediciones de "América" Revista Antológica, 1950. First Edition. Good. An early book of poems (her third or fourth?), published in an edition of 300 copies. Castellanos was a major Mexican literary figure in the 20th century, part of the Generación de los 50. She died in 1974, at 49 years old, while serving as the Mexican ambassador to Israel. 65 pages. First edition (first printing). This copy has been bound in full dyed calf, preserving the original front and rear wrappers. The leather binding is faded and worn at the edges. This copy is inscribed to noted Mexican playwright Emilio Carballido, another member of the Generación de los 50. The inscription is hard to read, but it is something like, "Para Emilio Carballido, uno de nuestros más sólidos valores. Con el afecto de su amiga, Rosario." [Roughly: For Emilio Carballido, one of our most valuable talents. With affection, from his friend, Rosario.] Very scarce signed, and especially so as an association copy.

Mexico: Imprenta de Vicente G. Torres, en el ex-Convento del Espiritú Santo, 1850. First Edition. Good. One of the first, if not the first, book published in Mexico and devoted to gymnastics. This is a translation of a book prepared by the French military, Instruction pour l'enseignement de la gymnastique dans les corps de troupes et les établissements militaires. The book offers written descriptions of gymnastic exercises followed by plates illustrating many of them. There is also a brief overview of typical gym equipment with plates illustrating possible arrangements of gymnasia. For more information see María José Garrido Asperó's 2016 book, Para sanar, fortalecer y embellecer los cuerpos. Historia de la gimnasia en la ciudad de México, 1824-1876, which discusses this book at some length and reproduces several of the plates. 104 (one folding), [13] pages, [4] leaves (one folding), 24 folding lithographed plates. 7-7/8 by 10-5/8 inches. First Mexican edition. Bound in late 19th / early… Read More

San Antonio, TX: Casa Editorial Lozano, 1930. First Edition. Very good. A collection of religious and devotional poems by a 19th century Mexican poet. He wrote the poems for his grandchildren and the manuscript remained unpublished when he died in 1910. This is one of the most attractive books, printed in yellow and black, from Casa Editorial Lozano, which specialized in rather pedestrian versions of Mexican books for a US audience. Introduction by Luis G. Urbina. lxxxi pages. 5-3/8 by 7-3/4 pages. First edition (first printing). Wrappers a bit worn along the top edge; previous owner's name inside, else very good.

New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2015. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A picture book about Mexico's great artist of the people. The author-artist was born in Mexico to American and Mexican parents; he attended high school and college in the US and now lives in Mexico. This book won the Tomás Rivera and Pura Belpré awards, among others. First edition (first printing, with a numberline ending in 1). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket.

San Cristóbal de Las Casas: Taller Leñateros, 1990. This is a group of five serigraphed post-card-sized announcements for publications and events, printed by Taller Leñateros, a Mayan book-arts collective in Chiapas founded by the American-born Mexican poet Ambar Past. One of the pieces prints a poem. Another has an abstract alphabet design with pieces of letter-shaped macaroni pasted on. Most about 4-1/2 by 6-1/2 inches. Near fine.

[Mexico]: Carla Zarebska, 1994. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. A commemorative volume collecting Sabines's poetry, texts about the writer by others, and reproductions of many family photographs and Sabines's publications. Text in Spanish. 356 pages. 9-3/4 by 12-1/4 inches. First edition (first printing). A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.

Mexico [Mexico City]: Cuadernos del Unicornio, 1958. First Edition. Pamphlet. Very good. The first book by Pacheco, an important Mexican poet. This, however, is a short story, published in a thin chapbook in tan wrappers illustrated with a drawing of a unicorn head printed in red-orange ink. One of 400 copies. Series edited by Juan José Arreola. First edition (first printing). A very good copy (a bit of loss at the top of the spine).

México [Mexico City]: Imprenta del Diario Español, 1954. First Edition. Trade paperback. Very good. English translation of the title: The fantastical plants of Mexico: Introduction to the pharmacology of teonanácatl mushrooms, marijuana, cinnamon, chicalote (prickly poppy), poppy, colorín (coral tree), locoweed, peyote, sinicuiche (loosestrife), cozticzapotl, ololiuqui (morning glory), camotillo, toloache (datura), coca, ayahuasca, and cohombrillo (squirting cucumber). A well-known survey of the hallucinogenic and psychoactive drug plants of Mexico. Illustrated from life by Sonia G. Mejía. Published in an edition of 500 copies. First edition (first printing). A very good copy in wrapper (paperback). Some soiling to the front covers.

Méjico [Mexico City]: Imprenta de J. Lara, 1846. First Edition. Trade paperback. Good. This agricultural and industrial report covers many topics, including silk, paper, wax, ceramics, cacao, and other crops and natural resources. It also includes a relatively early mention of mezcal (mescal), which is described as an important product in many parts, especially in Jalisco and the Tequila region. José María Castaños's Hacienda de Pugo is identified as the best equipped sugar refinery in the country for both refined sugar and for aguardiente (rum) production. 77 pages plus six large, foldout broadside tables of statistics which are classic examples of mid-19th century Mexican typography, with intricate, decorated borders printed from lead type. Very good in original printed yellow wrappers, with a couple of inches of loss to the spine ends. The fold-out plates are generally very good; a few with tears at the point of attachment.

New York: Ariel Books, 1953. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Good. An illustrated juvenile history of Mexico from the days of the Aztecs to the 1950s. Illustrated by Lynd Ward: "The drawings for this book were drawn directly on stone by the artist and the book was lithographed in four colors by George C. Miller." While this book was reprinted at least once, it remains quite uncommon, and it is a singular Ward title for being illustrated with actual stone lithographs. First edition (stated on the copyright page; later printings lack the words "first edition."). Quarter-bound in yellow cloth over a gray-green textured cloth. Near fine in a good dust jacket missing a one-inch piece at the spine, including the word "the" of the title and with a surface scar at the base of the spine that removed the authors' names. The top edge has significant chipping. With the original $3.95 price (confirmed by checking newspaper reviews from November 1953, when the book was published), which was expensive for a… Read More

Very good. Two sammelband volumes, in similar bindings, of pamphlets on military subjects, all but one published in Mexico. Three are not recorded in OCLC; a fourth is recorded only in a much later edition; a fifth is only in microfilm. Volume 1: 1. Moral Militar. Libro de los deberes del soldado. A translation by A. German de la Gándara of A. Guillot-Desbordeliers's Morale Militaire. Matamoros: Tipografía del "Observador", 1870. First Mexican edition (widely published in the Spanish-speaking world in the last half of the 19th century). 92 pages. This edition not in OCLC. 2. Informe sobre el estudio y examen que se ha hecho del fusil de guerra "Lee-Remington" por la comisión del ejército nacional, presidida por el G. General de División Sóstenes Rocha. México: Imp. y Lit. de Ireneo Paz, 1885. vi, chart, folding plate. Not in OCLC. 3. Información racional de combate para la infantería. [México, 1884]. Translated by Miguel Badillo (source not identified). 15 pages; folding plate. Not in… Read More

Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1945. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. 491 pages. Niggli's classic novel of Mexican village life. Niggli (1910-1983) was born to Anglo parents in Mexico, and for much of her childhood she went back and forth between Mexico and San Antonio. Her close connection to the land of her birth inspired most of her writing. The novel was adapted into film as Sombrero, starring Ricardo Montalban. First edition (first printing, with statement of printing; distinguishable from the 1960s reprinting by the title page, which is enclosed in a frame measuring 6-1/4 inches from top to bottom). A beautiful copy, near fine in a like, price-clipped jacket, and very uncommon in this condition.