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Scholars say the collection of nearly 2,800 items document the history of Mexico from the colonial period to contemporary times.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
January 2, 2008

Very carefully and meticulously, Verónica Reyes-Escudero flipped through pages of letters, maps and government documents, some of which were in curly script believed to have been written hundreds of years ago.

Those items and thousands of others make up The University of Arizona’s newly acquired “Biblioteca Morales de Escárcega” collection.

Reyes-Escudero, an associate librarian with the UA Libraries Special Collections, said the collection is a chronicle of the country’s history, including its independence from Spain, conflicts with the United States and the political gains of José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori, or Porfirio Diaz, who became president of Mexico.

Some items predate Arizona earning its statehood in 1912, the year the U.S. Library of Congress was founded and also the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the Southern states.

All told, the collection contains 10 photographs, 77 broadsides and about 2,700 books, some printed with dates from the 17th century.

A number of the items are stained and weathered and some have ink that has bled over time. A few are speckled with holes, likely from worms. Spines have torn away from some of the books. Despite all this, the collection has maintained its value.

The eagerly sought-after collection is the only known assemblage of its kind to narrate a specific period of time in Mexico’s history, spanning the colonial period up to the 20th century.

“I consider this a major collection,” Reyes-Escudero said while looking through the lot. On average, the library adds three major collections each year, she said.

The UA Libraries spent about $56,000 to purchase and ship the collection from Mexico, gift and endowment funds. The UA Libraries was also awarded a $25,000 grant from the Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation, which will allow staff to catalog and digitize the collection.

Librarians will be working with UA faculty to validate and study items in the books, manuscripts, letters, maps and other pieces.

In his assessment of the collection, Michael M. Brescia, Arizona State Museum assistant curator of ethnohistory, spoke about how well the pieces correspond with what already exists at the UA.

Its contents “reflect quite nicely the nature and purpose of Special Collections at the UA Library, that is to serve as a repository and promote the scholarly significance of rare or difficult to find primary source materials that facilitate the research and teaching strengths of the UA,” Brescia wrote.

“Simply put, these documents, printed matter and books are key primary materials that speak to every major event in 19th century Mexico,” Brescia added.

Brescia also noted that the collection would have “substantial impact” in areas including religious studies, sociology, political science, law, anthropology and history.

The work will be available to researchers, students and members of the public, and the library is already planning an opening and exhibit, likely during the fall.

Gildardo Morales Díaz, who lived in Mexico City, began gathering the works for his personal library in 1920. His children and grandchildren preserved the collection after his death.

The collection has yet to be cataloged and processed, said Reyes-Escudero, who is still sifting through its many pieces to become familiar with its contents.

“Some of those manuscripts are the one and only,” she said.

And there is much to learn about many of the pieces, which include obvious jewels:

• A document printed with the year “1770” explains how rural haciendas worked, such as ways finances were handled and what jobs people carried.
• A 1773 letter from a religious order to a reverend requests that the priests in the order be excluded from surgery courses. Other documents discuss land ownership by religious orders.
• A series of books chronicle the life of Maximilian, the late 19th century emperor of Mexico, and the first letter he wrote to the people of Mexico before arriving in the country in 1864.
• A map details Vicente Guerrero’s “guerrilla tactics” during the wars fought for independence from Spain.

“To tell the history of Mexico and our relationship to Mexico, these documents do rely on each other,” Reyes-Escudero said. "To me, all of these things are exceptional because it is unique to find these materials, and in one place."