Arte de Escribir por Reglas y con Muestras, Segun la Doctrina de los Mujeres Autores Antiguos y Modernos, Extrangeros y Nacionales: Acompanado de Unos Principios de Aritmetica, Gramatica y Ortografia Castellana, Urbanidad y Varios Sistemas para la Formacion y Ensenanza de los Principales Caracteres que se Usan en Europa.
Madrid: La Imprenta de la Viuda de Don Joaquin Ibarra. 1798. First Edition. Full-Leather. Very Good / No Jacket. Item #2330429
First edition, in what appears to be the original 18th century binding. Boards rubbed with dime-sized spot and 2 x 3/4 inch loss of leather on rear board, pencil gift note on verso of front endpaper, with details of provenance thereafter, showing the book was given by C.L. Rialetto to his friend and co-worker Charles W. Norder in 1915, and then owned by M.T. Van Ardstrand of Pittsburgh until 1973, and then Walter J. Filling of Washington, D.C., front and end matter lightly foxed, minor smudges on margins of a few pages, rear endpaper loosening.
xxviii, 418, [1] pp. Full leather, five raised spine bands, black morocco spine label, hand-tooled gilt titles, triple rules in compartments, decorative borders on front and rear boards and along board edges, marbled endpapers. Hand-colored engraved title page precedes plain title page, hand-colored engraving captioned El Conde de Trastamara precedes dedication and introduction. 58 engraved plates throughout the first work displaying various styles of penmanship and decorative calligraphy. The author was a Spanish calligrapher an early advocate of the teaching of spelling and grammar to early students. This work provides guidance on not only the history and method of writing, but also illustrations of handwriting designed to show students how to produce clear, legible documents. It also includes basics of arithmetic, and was designed to be used in primary schools. King Charles IV considered it so excellent that he decreed in 1801 that it be the standard for curricula in all schools. The work was reissued in 1802, likely to meet the increased demand created by this decree.
Price: $850.00