[Manuscripts and Broadsides Documenting the Completion of Baccalaureate Requirements at the University of Guadalajara in the Early 19th Century]

Guadalajara: Apud Mariannum Valdez Tellez Giron, 1808. Good.. Three stitched fascicles, totaling [30] manuscript leaves and fifteen printed broadsides and broadsheets, completed both in manuscript and in type. Some folded. Straight, vertical cuts from foot of one fascicle. Some dust soiling and toning; scattered damp staining and foxing. A few separations along folds of printed sheets. Head of some printed sheets trimmed away, effecting some loss. A fascinating combination of printed and manuscript material relating to the completion of Baccalaureate requirements for degrees in divinity from the University of Guadalajara in the early 19th century. Present here are three stitched fascicles, each relating to a different student, that contain manuscript attestations from the candidates themselves and university professors to the individual's achievements, as well as printed copies of their degrees and other official documents from the university bestowing honors upon their recipients. Each recipient was conferred a copy of their degree, completed in manuscript and affixed with the printed seal of the university, attesting that after four years in the study of "Sacrae Theologiae," he had achieved the rank of Baccalaurens. Then, the three students, Gabriel Sanchez Leñero, Joaquin de Valdecañas, and Miguel de Talaveras, received different printed broadsheets completed to varying degrees in type and in manuscript according to their specific studies an accomplishments. In all we identify eleven different printed forms and broadsheets, none of which are located by Medina or OCLC. Most bear the imprint of Mariano Valdes Tellez Giron, the first printer of Guadalajara, who worked alone in the city from 1793 to his death from an epileptic seizure at the end of 1807, making the present job work some of the last printing completed by this important printer. Some of the broadsheets, printed on two joined leaves and folded into each fascicle, have been trimmed at the head, with the loss of some material including engraved illustrations. Nevertheless, the present documents represent a trove of previously unrecorded, early job printing from Guadalajara.