73. COAHUILA Y TEXAS (Mexican State). GOVERNOR
(Juan Martin de Veramendi). Memoria en que el Gobernador
del estado libre de Coahuila y Tejas...leida en la
Sesión Publica de 2 de enero de 1833. Leona
Vicario [Saltillo]: Ciudadano Sisto González, 1833.
7 pp., 15 tables (some folding, with varying typographical
borders). Folio, original white printed wrappers (title
with bold typographical border and engraved allegorical
vignette), stitched. A superb copy, clean and crisp.
Preserved in a half tan levant morocco and beige cloth
folding box. Rare.
First
edition. Eberstadt, Texas 162:875: "An extremely
important document, crammed with vital statistical and
historical information." Howes C505. Streeter 788 (3
locations: Texas State Library, Saltillo Archives, Yale):
"In this interesting annual message the Governor comments
severely on the disregard for the laws of the state in the
Department at San Felipe de Austin in October, 1832. Though
the new ayuntamiento of González in the ‘Grent
Dewit’ colony was established during the year, their
figures were not received in time to be included in the
schedules."
This important and rare Cohuilatecan imprint is a very
handsome example of borderlands printing. In 1830 Samuel
Bangs (first printer in Texas and several Northern Mexican
states—see The Handbook of Texas Online: Samuel
Bangs) left his post at Saltillo as government printer for
Coahuila y Tejas to travel to Texas to try to finalize his
land grant. In his absence, official printing began to pile
up, and printer González took charge of Bangs’
press and fonts. This is not a Bangs’ imprint, but his
taste and technique can be clearly seen in its beauty. In
Streeter’s introduction to the section of his Texas
bibliography on Mexican imprints, he discusses the items
most important for a Texas collection, pointing out the
importance of the series of imprints of which this is part
(p. 217): "Another interesting lot in this period is made
up of the Nota Estadisticas, reporting to the
Central Government on the events in the state, and the
Memorias of state governors on the same subject."
This imprint migrated from the Eberstadts to Jenkins to
Sloan to Pingenot and back to Sloan. It is high time that
some sophisticated collector or institution give this
worthy imprint the refuge it
deserves.
Pingenot: When the Governor comments severely on the
lack of regard for the laws of the state in the department
of Bexar, he actually means Texas in general. Included are
reports on public education, smallpox vaccination,
agriculture (noting that this has been difficult in Bexar
because of the hostile Indians), colonization, taxes, etc.
A beautiful example of an early Northern Mexican imprint.
($500-1,000)