Early books

Early books

The MUNAG's early books tell the history of the book in Mexico from the 16th century: large-format choir books, prayer books, sermon books, doctrines and vocabularies in Indigenous languages, as well as 19th-century books and miniature editions.

Many survive in their original leather bindings, with gilt tooling, clasps and decorated endpapers. Others survive as loose leaves or title pages showing the engravings, coats of arms and typography of their time.

An early book is also a technical object: its paper, ink, typesetting and binding tell where, when and how it was made.

Below you will find a selection of early books and imprints from the collection.