356

An early Mexican carta de poder, or power of attorney document.

Mexico, 4 August 1589
Partially-printed document signed, 2 pages, 12¼ x 8¾ inches, on one sheet, completed in manuscript; stitch holes in margin, moderate edge wear, minor foxing; uncut.

A printed carta de poder (power of attorney) form completed in manuscript, stating that Florencio Ruiz of Mexico has granted power of attorney to Alonso de Leon and Alonso Debargas, with the signatures of Ruiz and a notary on verso.

This exact form is not recorded in Szewczyk's "39 Books and Broadsides Printed in America before the Bay Psalm Book," but is very similar to his #13, printed by 1584. The present copy has the comma after "vieren" in the first line, rather than before, and the second line concludes "ynegocios ceuiles y cri" rather than "y negocios ceuiles è cri-". While the typesetting is altered, the typeface remains the same, including the initial woodblock capital "S" carried over from similar forms in use since 1562, and here printed upside down. The printer was very likely Pedro Ocharte of Mexico City.

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