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Doctrina Christiana - The first book printed in the Philippines, Manila, 1593. by Anonymous
page 53 of 122 (43%)
Since we have here dealt with a volume printed entirely from
wood-blocks it does not seem necessary to discuss in detail the
subsequent typographical books. However, just as this goes to press,
a copy of the _Ordinationes Generales prouintiae Sanctissimi Rosarij
Philippinarum_, [127] printed at Binondo by Juan de Vera in 1604,
has been discovered, and also presented by Mr. Rosenwald to the
Library of Congress. This is the volume described by Remesal [128]
as being printed "in as fine characters and as correctly as if in
Rome or Lyon." No copy of the book had been described since his day,
although Medina [129] and Retana [130] both listed it from references
which probably derived from Remesal. Its discovery--almost unbelievable
coming so close on the heels of that of the Doctrina--helps to close
the gap between the latter and the two Bataan imprints [131] of 1610,
the _Arte y Reglas de la Lengva Tagala_ and the _Librong Pagaaralan
nang manga Tagalog nang uicang Castilla_.

The full story of the early typographical products of the Philippines
must wait upon another occasion, for the questions posed by the scanty
records and the handful of surviving books are extremely knotty. Where
did the type come from? Medina suggested it was imported from Macao;
Retana believed it to have been cut in the Philippines. Fernández
said that the first works of Blancas de San José were printed at
Bataan and the two 1610 books have that place of printing, yet in
1604 the _Ordinationes_ issued from Binondo. Remesal wrote that this
book was printed by Francisco de Vera, and the book itself bears the
name of Juan. Indeed, the history of the early typographers and the
output of their presses, as it has so far been written, presents many
problems, but they are problems which we feel are outside the scope
of this study.

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