The first printing press in the New World is established in Mexico City in 1539. Because printing was concevied by the Spaniards as a tool for missionaries in the Christianization of Indian populations, these early imprints consisted primarily of grammars and vocabularies of native Indian languages, as well as instructional religious tracts. This collection provides digitized images of some of the earliest products of Mexican printing presses (1539-1600). In addition to making available some of the earliest imprints produced in the New World, this collection provides important and rare sources for the study of the first phases of the Spanish enterprise in the New World, as well as initial forms of encounter between Native Americans and Europeans. These works also provide valuable insights into native languages and cultures during the first decades of contact. Early Mexican imprints are quite rare, and the Latin American Library houses nine of these titles. The total number of pages is approximately 2600. The texts are in Spanish, Purépecha and Nahuatl.
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1559, Gilberti - Dialogo de Doctrina Christiana en La Lengua de Mechuaca
1559, Gilberti - Vocabulario en Lengua de Mechuaca
1565, Espinosa - Confesionario Mayor, en Lengua Mexicana y Castellana
1565, P Ocharte - Doctrina Xpiana Breve y Copediosa
1571, Espinosa - Vocabvlario en Lengva Castellana y Mexicana
1575, P Balli - Doctrina Mhristiana Mvy Cvmplida
1595, Balli - Arte Mexicana
1599, Baptista - Confessionario en Lengua Mexicana y Castellana
1600, M Ocharte - Advertencias para Los Confessores de Los Naturales
1600, M Ocharte - Advertencias para Los Confessores de Los Naturales Part 2