First Book Printed in
New Mexico
MANUALITO DE PARROCOS – Handbook for Pastors
A Bilingual Ritual
(Latin-Spanish) Published on the Padre Martinez Press in Taos – 1839
This was one of the first books printed in New Mexico, if
not the first one. Four years
previously, a Speller—half the number of the more than fifty pages of the Manualito—
was printed on the same press before Padre Martinez came to own it. That booklet, the Speller, was dedicated to
the children of the Martínez extended family.
1. LOG ON to the site of New Mexico State Archives:
2. Click ENTER SITE on the upper left, and that should bring
you to this page:
http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=23181
OR
http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=23197
3. Go to SEARCH field at bottom right, and type in Manualito
de Párrocos, and click
RETURN.
4. That should take you to a summary paragraph entitled
“1839 – Manualito de Párrocos.”
CLICK on that title, and it should take you to a one-page summary of “A
TREATMENT – By Rev. Juan Romero.”
5. SCROLL DOWN to the bottom
of that page, and you will come to a simple menu with two choices: Related
Materials, and Return to Search Results. I highly recommend you click on Related
Materials.
6. That will prompt you to
choose MANUALITO DE PARROCOS or VITURAL BOOK, Manualito de Parrocos.
7. Choose BOTH, but one at a
time. I suggest you start with “Manualito
de Parrocos,” which is the treatment, and then continue on to “Virtual
book” which is an interesting glimpse into the text itself—all 52 pages,
plus. Be advised that it takes “several
minutes to load, depending on your internet connection.
* * * * *
THE SPELLER OF PADRE MARTINEZ
See a virtual version of this
1834 booklet that may consider the first book published in New Mexico. It is
presented through the research of Pam Smith by the cooperative efforts of the
Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe and the Smithsonian Institute: