Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - October - 2003 Issue
An Electronic Catalogue from Peru
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By Mike Stillman
Libreria de Antano, an Argentine bookseller, has found an interesting, not to mention inexpensive, method of reaching its scattered customers around the world. It is sending out catalogues disguised as email. We would make no pretensions that an email catalogue compares with the printed version. However, with a widely dispersed audience and offerings in a particularly targeted niche, there may be no other practical way of letting customers see what’s available. Libreria de Antano’s “E-List #7” accomplishes that goal.
E-List #7 is a collection of rare and out of print books on Peru. Some items cover areas of South America beyond Peru, but all are tied in some way to that country, with many being strictly Peruvian items. And, all books are on sale for sixty days, discounts ranging from 20%-30% depending on when the book was printed.
Some examples from this “catalogue” include G. Garcia’s Origen de los indios de el nuevo mundo e indias occidentales. This is a second edition, printed in Madrid in 1729. Garcia had some theories about the origin of the American Indians that were not based on much more than his conjecture, but he also described what he observed, and recorded what these native peoples believed about their own origins. Item 7. $2,950 (before discount).
Item 8 is Diego de Torres Rubio’s Arte y Vocabulario de la lengua Quichua General de los Indios de el Perú… Torres Rubio was a Jesuit who traveled to Peru in the late 16th century and spent most of his energies studying the native language, known as “Quichua.” The 1754 printing from Lima is described as the most complete edition of this native grammar. $2,500.
Item 10, Synodo Diocesana del Obispado de Santiago de Chile… is the first book printed in South America which has its title page in two colors. It was printed in Lima in 1764. $2,500.
Item 19 is a very interesting collection of letters from J. de la Pezuela, the last Spanish Viceroy of Peru. Sent between January 6 and September 16, 1820, they deal primarily with military and political matters. The Viceroy’s actions against the independence movement were in vain, and Lima would fall less than a year after the last of these letters was written. $4,750.
Items 35 and 40 are versions of W.H. Prescott’s History of the Conquest of Peru. Item 35 is in English and was printed in London in 1847, while 40 is in Spanish and was printed in Madrid in 1851. $90 and $80.
In total, there are 234 items in this email catalogue. To receive a copy, you may email a request to books@millic.com.ar.
