Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - May - 2007 Issue
Latin American and Spanish Books and Manuscripts from Libreria de Antano
Illustrations from Parra's Book of Fishes.
Item 36 is a major and spectacular Cuban work, Descripción de diferentes piezas de historia natural. Published in Havana in 1787, this is the first Cuban illustrated work and the first Cuban scientific book. Commonly known as the Book of Fishes, it covers flora and fauna, but the emphasis is on Cuba's marine life. Author Antonio Parra was sent to Cuba in 1771 by the Botanical Garden in Madrid to find material for its collection. He did more than just collect plants, as evidenced by this work, including 75 plates. It was finally published in 1787. Price on request.
Item 34 is Carta Segunda Pastoral... an ecclesiastical text from Father J.A. San Alberto, an Argentine work published in 1786. In it, San Alberto talks about books, and observes, "But Lord, in these countries a great deal of money is necessary to have books..." Some things never change. $2,000.
Item 56 is a surprising text for a Spanish-speaking Cuban to write. Antonio Bachiller y Morales' 1845 book, Antiguedades americanas, attempts to prove that the Americas were not first visited by Columbus, but by Scandinavians in the 12th century. $1,200.
Libreria de Antano may be reached by email at info@antano.com.ar. They can provide a link to a downloadable catalogue. Their telephone number is (5411) 48227178.
