rces of his mind, which were great. In
spite of the difficulties, he attained that which he desired,
and was the first printer in these islands; and this not from
avarice--for he gained much more in his business as a merchant,
and readily gave up his profit--but merely to do service to
the Lord and this good to the souls of the natives." [126]

It is interesting to note that this narrative, which is in substance
similar to that about the books of Blancas de San Jose, nowhere
mentions the name of the priest in connection with Vera. It is probable
that Juan de Vera was, as Retana believed, the first typographer, and
it may be that he also printed the Doctrinas of 1593. It is impossible
to say with certainty, but it is not too fanciful to suppose that
Juan de Vera tried xylographic printing under the supervision of
Nieva and San Pedro Martyr, and after some experimenting achieved
typography in the time of Blancas de San Jose.

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. Fernandez
said that the first works of Blancas de San Jose were printed at
Bataan and the two 1610 books have that place of printing, yet in
1604 the _Ordinationes_ issued from