[Sidenote: Ricardo printer in Peru] Much that was written in the colonies has not been printed, sometimes because the manuscript was not approved by the censor, sometimes because the funds needed to cover the cost were not available, and sometimes because the manuscript was lost. The liability to loss was especially great during most of the colonial period, since manuscripts designed for printing had to be sent to Europe, and were exposed to dangers from shipwreck, the attacks of pirates, and the neglect of the persons to whom they were entrusted. It was only late that presses were established in the dependencies of South America; and even after they were provided, the quality of the work done was poor and the expense high. Printing was introduced into Mexico earlier than into South America, and it was from Mexico that Peru received its first printer. This was Antonio Ricardo, who had been a printer in Mexico for ten years. He decided to remove to Peru in 1579, but encountered serious obstacles to his proposed emigration, partly due to the fact that he was not a native of Spain. He encountered other obstacles in seeking permission to undertake the business of printing in Peru after his arrival in that country. Finally, when the catechism prepared by the Jesuits at the request of the ecclesiastical council was completed, the audiencia, on February the thirteenth, 1584, decreed that Ricardo might be permitted to print it. But the work was interrupted in order to print instructions concerning corrections in the calendar, under the title _Pragmática sobre los diez días del año_. The authorization of this publication was given by the audiencia on the fourteenth of July, 1584, and this first product of the South American press appeared a little later. The catechism became the second publication.[1] [Sidenote: Contreras Royal Printer]