Gazeta de Caracas II: 1811-1812

38+unpaginated reproduced pages from the Gazeta de Caracas. Folio (15" x 11") bound in original publisher's quarter beige cloth with gilt lettering to spine over beige boards with black and red lettering to cover. From the library of Professor Donald Worcester. First published as newspaper from 1811-1812.

La Gazeta de Caracas was the first newspaper printed in Venezuela; its first issue was published on October 24, 1808. In 1814, its name changed to Gaceta de Caracas. The newspaper was issued, with some interruptions, until January 1822. It was printed by the Britons Matthew Gallagher and James Lamb, who had brought a printing press from Trinidad. They became the first typographers working in Venezuela. The newspaper published news and ideas favorable toward the current government, which would subject it to rapid changes in editorial policies as the Venezuelan War of Independence raged; its sympathies alternated between royalist and republican, somewhat undermining its credibility. Andrés Bello was almost permanently editor of the newspaper until it changed name in 1814 (Wikipedia).

Donald E. Worcester (1915-2003) was an American historian who specialized in Southwestern United States and Latin American history. He was president of the Western History Association from 1974-1975. Worcester graduated from Bard College in 1939. He received an M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1941. He then served in the US Naval Reserve in World War II. He received a PhD. from Berkeley in 1947. From 1947 until 1963 he was a professor at the University of Florida. He then was a professor at Texas Christian University and history department chair. From 1960 until 1965 he was managing editor of the Hispanic American Historical Review. Worcester's view that history is made of complexities, not dualities, is seen as foundational for much of the understanding by later scholars of Southwest United States history.

Condition: Worcester's stamp to front end paper, pages age toned, front cover soiled, corners bumped and rubbed else a very good copy.