The Sor Juana Revival in a Period Binding
Obras selectas de la monja célebre de Méjico... Preciadas de su biografía y juicio crítico sobre todas sus producciones, por Juan Léon Mera
Publication: Quito [Ecuador]: Imprenta Nacional, 1873. First Edition.
Notes: A beautiful copy of the edition that sparked the Sor Juana revival.
In the late 19th century, Sor Juana was a well-known Spanish-language author through the inclusion of samples of her writings in anthologies. According to her bibliographer, Pedro Henriquez Ureña, prior to this collection, edited by the Ecuadoran writer and literary critic Juan León Mera, the most recent substantial survey of Sor Juana's work had appeared in Madrid in 1731 (Ureña 44. The last time her works had seen print in Latin America was in the 1690s (Ureña 29).
While Ureña praises Mera's edition for offering a thoughtful assessment ("discreto juicio") of Sor Juana, it has come under some criticism for its changes to spelling and titles (see Juan Carlos Grijalva, Las mujeres de Juan León Mera in Revista de Crítica Literaria Latinoamericana, Año 34, No. 67, 2008). In his introduction, Mera also finds fault with traits modern readers find compelling, like Sor Juana's ear for language:
"At other times she imitates the dialect of black slaves or mixes proper Spanish with the Mexican vernacular, and in the end, profanes her own talent" ("Otras veces imita el dialecto de los negros esclavos, o bien mezcla la lengua española con la mejicana, y en fin, profana a un tiempo su propio talento").
Nevertheless, within a few years of this publication, Sor Juana's works were being regularly reprinted. Ureña cites editions in Bogotá (1889), Paris (1890), and Mexico (1893). Dorothy Schons, in her 1927 bibliography, cites a number of others before 1900.
This volume of selected works includes more than 100 poems, a dialogue, a three-act play, and several letters. [8, including the errata], lxxxvi, 492 pages. 12mo.
Urena 58.
Edition + Condition: First edition of this collection. Very good in a contemporary brown tree calf binding, spine and spine label decorated in gilt. Sprinkled pages edges. Light wear to the outer joints, else an exceptionally well-preserved fragile late 18th century South American binding. Old stamp apparently removed from the title page; it's apparent in the photograph but your cataloguer didn't notice in real life.
Item No: #365116
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