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Casa de la Primera Imprenta de América

Mexico

Casa de la Primera Imprenta de América

The House of the First Printing Press in the Americas (Spanish: Casa de la Primera Imprenta de América) at the corner of Moneda and Licenciado Primo Verdad streets in Mexico City was the home of the first printing press/print shop in the New World. The printer Juan Pablos oversaw the printing of at

least 35 books at this print shop between 1539, the date of the first book printed in the Americas, and his death in 1560. The house was originally constructed by Gerónimo de Aguilar in 1524 and is located on the outer edge of what was the sacred precinct of the Templo Mayor prior to the Conquest. After receiving permission from Spanish king Carlos V and the archbishop of Mexico City, Juan de Zumárraga had a printing press brought from Europe in 1539. The press was set up in this house, then called the "Casa de las Campanas" (House of the Bells) by the Seville-based publisher Juan Cromberger with Italian printer Juan Pablos who worked for living expenses for ten years. They began printing viceregal- and Church-related documents. One of these documents was a catechism entitled Breve y más compendiosa doctrina christiana en lengua mexicana y castellana ("The Brief and Most Concise Christian...

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