Statuta Ecclesiae Mexicanae Necon Ordo in Choro Servandus Curante Vallisolentanae Ecclesiae Capitulo Sumptus Suppeditante

Mexici: Apud Marianum Zunnigam, 1797. Good plus.. [2],140,[4]pp. Small folio. Contemporary vellum over printer's waste paste boards. Moderate wear and some dampstaining to vellum. Light worming, heavier to initial leaves, affecting some text but not sense. Fray Antonio de San Miguel, the bishop of Michoacan, reprints the statutes on choir organization promulgated by the Third Mexican Provincial Council of 1585 and the "Ordo Servandus in Choro" of Archbishop Alonso de Montúfar (fl. 1512-1570). The archbishop originally established these forty-two rules on proper organization and deportment for the choir of the Cathedral of Mexico City. The bishop of Michoacan undoubtedly wished to bring some of this order to his own bishopric and cathedral.

The present work is a well-composed and attractive example of late 18th-century Mexican printing. This copy possesses the additional benefit of having light paste boards made from printer's waste under its vellum covers, with some of the waste text visible under the lower corner of the front board. A quite scarce work in any event; we locate four copies in U.S. institutions.
Medina, Mexico 8711.