An Edition and Interdisciplinary Study of a Sermon from New Spain (1675), Written and Preached by Joseph D?as Chamorro and Printed by In?s V?squez Infante

The printing press was introduced to Puebla, Mexico, in the middle of the 17th century. Juan de Borja y Gand?a and his wife In?s V?squez Infante, Spanish immigrants from Cadiz, Spain established a printing press and book selling business in the portals of the Puebla Cathedral. She continued his entrepreneurial duties following his death in 1656.

The majority of her publications pertained to sermons for funerals and festive occasions. In 1675 she printed a sermon written by a priest, Joseph D?as Chamorro, to celebrate the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception. Cushing Memorial Library and Archives at Texas A & M University houses one of the rare copies available in North America. The book, Serm?n qve predic? el Bachiller Joseph D?as Chamorro Cl?rigo Presb?tero Domiciliario de e?te Obi?pado de la Puebla de los ?ngeles en la solemne fie?ta de la pur???ima concepci?n de la sanct???ima Uirgen Mar?a Nue?tra Se?ora que celebraron los mercaderes de e?ta ciudad en el Convento de Carmelitas De?cal?as a on?e de Diziembre del a?o de mil y ?ei?cientos y ?esenta y cinco, dedicado a la Immaculada Concepci?n de la Sanct??sima Virgen Mar?a Madre de Dios, has not previously been edited or studied.

The sermon received inquisitional approval on February 24, 1675, and licensing four days later. The probable date of oral delivery was December 11, 1675. The sermon features seven woodcut engravings and several decorated borders. The text was printed mostly in Spanish with occasional Latin in citations. The Cushing exemplar's appearance has been marred by an unknown liquid, but it does not detract from the beautifully displayed text.

Section 1 introduces the exemplar and the sermon genre in New Spain. Section 2 studies the author, Joseph D?as Chamorro, and Section 3 focuses on the Borja family of printers. In Section 4 appear studies of the sermon, the exemplar, a transcription, and text notes. The conclusions appear in Section 5, followed by the references.

The thesis examines the sermon from historical, cultural, economic, social, religious, and philosophical aspects of 17th century Puebla and contextualizes its first woman printer.