Oracion funebre que en las solemnes excequias [sic] del Muy Alto, y Poderoso Señor Carlos III, Rey de Espana y de las Indias, celebradas en la Santa Iglesia Metropolitana de la Plata, con asistencia de su Real Audiencia, y Cabildos Eclesiàsticos, y Secular, dixo ....

Buenos Aires, Impreso en la Real Imprenta de los Niños Expositos, 1789.. FIRST and ONLY EDITION. 4°, contemporary (or slightly later) mottled sheep (one corner bumped), smooth spine with gilt bands and ornaments (worn and chipping, hinges weak), marbled endleaves. Title page in red and black. Luxuriously printed on heavy paper, with large type and wide margins. Internally fine; overall in very good condition. Old paper tag with blue border and shelfmark in ink ("74") near head of spine. (1 l.), 128 pp. *** FIRST and ONLY EDITION of this funeral oration, printed with generous margins and a title page in red and black - the first two-color printing in Rio de la Plata, judging from Medina.San Alberto, an absolutist, eulogizes the saintliness of King Carlos III of Spain (1716-1788), one of the eighteenth century's most famous enlightened despots. King Carlos's activities included promoting education, facilitating trade and industry, and reforming the Church. The reforms included the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, a fact referred to obliquely on pp. 58-61. Furlong notes that some of San Alberto's effusive praise was disputed even by his contemporaries.Frei José Antonio de San Alberto (1727-1804), born in the Aragonese town of Fresno, professed in the Carmelite convent in Zaragoza in 1744 and was named prior of the Convent of St. Theresa in 1766. He later became Procurador General of the Order in Madrid and acted as royal preacher and Examinador Sinodal for the Archbishop of Toledo. In 1778 he was appointed Bishop of Córdoba de Tucumán by Carlos III, and in 1786 became Bishop of La Plata. He was one of the outstanding prelates of the late colonial period in Latin America, known for his learning and for his charity to the poor. For his contributions to education, he has been compared to Domingo F. Sarmiento, father of the educational system in Argentina. René-Moreno commented, "The characteristics of the writings of San Alberto are: persuasive reasoning based upon a great deal of first-hand knowledge of the sacred scriptures and canons. They follow a simple and cohesive structure and a mellifluous tone which draws even the most profane readers. This last feature has assured a lasting success to his writings" (no. 508).*** Furlong, Rioplatenses 332. Medina, La Plata 115. Palau 289515. Sabin 75980. CCPBE locates copies at in the Biblioteca Pública del Estado en Huesca, the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid, and the Facultad de Teología del Norte de España in Burgos. Rebiun lists an incomplete manuscript copy at the Biblioteca Nacional de España Jisc repeats British Library only.