WORLDWIDE CATHOLICA

BeautifullyIllustrated Meditations on the Gospels of the Mass

•  These meditations on the Mass Gospels are accompanied by an engraved title and 153 engraved plates, the first being in the form of a second engraved title and the remainder illustrating the gospels in question. Of the 153, nine are engraved by Carel van Malery, 17 by Jan Wierx, ten by Adrien Collaert, one by Jan Collaert, 58 by Antoine Wierx, and 55 by Jeronimus Wierx; eight are after Maarten de Vos and the first engraved title is unsigned. The plates are finely and beautifully done, the images sharp and with a wealth of detail, and they notably lack the sentimentality often found in religious art of this period. (The angels ministering to Christ in one of the engravings for the first Sunday of Lent, for example, look more like serious heavenly servants than the cute cherubs often seen.) In addition the engraver has labelled various items in the scenes shown with letters, keyed to a description below, the better to aid active mental prayer.

Gerónimo Nadal (1507–80) was a Jesuit with a notable career, ending as a vicar general. His illustrated commentaries on the Gospels in the Roman Missal were first published in 1593, and were edited by Jaime Ximenes, secretary of the order, whose letter dedicatory to Pope Clement VIII opens this volume. This third edition is distinguished by the incorporation of the text of the newly issued and critically edited Clementine Vulgate.

Binding: Ornately tooled vellum over boards with working clasps (similar to other bindings from the Abbey of Salem, see below). Covers with concentric frames having in the center of each a blind-embossed vignette: That on the front shows the Crucifixion, and that on the rear the Resurrection. Spine with inked title.

Provenance: “FF.B.M.V. in Salem” inked in blank area on title-page, i.e, the Cistercian Abbey of Salem in southern Germany (Baden). The monastery was secularized in 1802 and the library moved to Peterhausen, thence sold to the University of Heidelberg.

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel, V, 1518–19; Palau 187149. Binding as above. Vellum with some staining and soiling; loss thereof on the upper outer corner of front cover. Pages and plates with a few instances of light soiling, and scattered light brown-spotting with a few darker spots, none of which obscuring impression. All edges green, though rubbed. Most impressive.

Nuestra Señora deLoreto de Roma

•  Details concerning a new mass and the benefits to all who celebrate or hear the mass.

•  Medina, Puebla, 1795. Late-19th- or early-20th-century quarter cloth with marbled paper sides.

The FirstJesuit Martyr in Scotland

•  The suffering and martyrdom of St. John Ogilvie (1580–1615), a Jesuit priest and the first Jesuit martyr in Scotland, is the subject of this important piece of recusant literature. He was sent to minister to his fellow Scots at his own request and landed in November, 1613. Working in Edinburgh and Glasgow, he converted or restored many to the Catholic Church during nine months of ministry. Arrested in the latter city, he was put to the torture, but despite his legs being crushed, his being pricked by needles for nine nights to keep him awake, and other measures, he refused to reveal any of his fellow Catholics.

His fortitude won his judges’ admiration, in particular that of the Protestant Archbishop Spottiswood, and while he was nonetheless found guilty of treason and hanged at Glasgow, the other indignities usual for traitors—beheading and quartering—were omitted due to the popular sympathy he had aroused. His body was hurriedly buried outside the city.

Ogilvie documented his own sufferings in this account, which was edited and completed employing the testimony of his co-prisoners by John Mayne; it was first published in 1615 (and Ogilvie was canonized in 1976). This is but the second of numerous editions listed in Allison & Rogers.

Rare: We were able to find only one copy of the first edition in the U.S. and found none of this or the other 1616 editions. The Scottish National Library has the first edition and the British Library this second; but neither, even of these, reports having both.

•  Allison & Rogers, Catholic Books, 849; not in Schaaber; DeBacker-Sommervogel, V, 1874–75 (though this edition is not listed). Modern wrappers. 19th-century private ownership stamp, older inked ownership inscription, and remnants of paper labels on title-page. Gilt leather tab on title-leaf, rubbed. Occasional spots of light foxing. All edges speckled red.

Local Catechism inGAELIC — 1707

•  Only the third edition of O'Hussey's Catholic catechism in Gaelic— specifically, the catechism as used in the diocese of Cloyne—despite the title-page labelling it the second edition ("secunda æditio"). The first edition appeared in 1611 and it was for that publication that the first truly Irish type was cast. The true second edition appeared in 1619.

O'Hussey (d. 1614) was a member of the Order of Friars Minor and one of the original members of the Irish Franciscan monastery/college of St. Anthony at Louvain. He served as a lecturer there (first in philosophy, later in theology), and at the time of his death from small pox he was the Guardian of the college.

The text of this work is entirely in Gaelic in a handsome Gaelic font. In addition to the basic catechism, the volume contains the Apostles' Creed, Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Sacraments of the Church. One leaf, following the main text, contains two full-page woodcut illustrations.

A most uncommon book: No copies have appeared at auction, and we trace only five copies in libraries outside of Europe.

•  ESTC T180574; Blom & Blom, English Catholic Books, 1701–1800, 2047. Recent full sprinkled calf, in a replica Cambridge style binding with tooling including rules, rolls, corner device, etc., in gold; round spine, raised bands accented with gilt tooling, and center devices of shamrocks in blind. Binding signed "GB" (Grace Bindings). Marbled endpapers. Some signatures age-toned. Tightly bound due to inadequate inner margins left by printer. One faint, very old, library stamp on one page. A very nice copy of a rare Gaelic book.

TwelveEngraved Plates

•  The author was a Discalced Carmelite and this work of his is illustrated with 12 engraved plates showing collars, other insignia, and uniforms. He studies both secular and regular orders of chivalry.

•  Early 20th-century quarter sheep, spine ruled in gilt forming spine compartments, one compartment lettered in gilt with title. Other compartments each with a blind-tooled center device. Without the frontispiece portrait.

Holy JESUITS from theFour Corners of the Earth

•  Compilation of short biographies of Jesuits noted for their sanctity: The entries are arranged by month (presumably the month of death) and include accounts of these Jesuits’ work in Latin America, the Philippines, Japan, India, Africa, and Europe, with some account of the persecuted Jesuit mission in England.

Juan Antonio de Oviedo (1670–1757), Jesuit, was born in Bogota and served as professor of theology and philosophy in Mexico City and Guatamala City; he was a procurator for the Society of Jesus in Madrid and Rome, visitor of the Society in the Phillippines and its rector in Mexico City, and twice provincial superior in Mexico. He wrote a number of devotional and hagiographical works in addition to this one.

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel, VI, 49; Medina, México, 4274; Palau 207722; Sabin 58000. Recent marbled paper over light boards; red leather label on spine, with gilt double rules above and below gilt-lettering. Title-page a little wormed and chipped touching woodcut border and parts of letters, partially repaired with tissue on verso. Occasional instances of staining and light soiling; some paper loss or tears in margins, not affecting impression. Vol. I only, Jesuits January through June.

Papists inProtestants’ Clothing

•  The anonymous author of this pamphlet here rails against the Oxford movement as importing the errors of the “idolatrous and apostate Church of Rome” into the Church of England.

Scarce: Searches of OCLC, RLIN, and NUC Pre-1956 locate only three copies in the U.S.

Single-click the image,
for an enlargement.

•  NSTC 2P29639. In later wrappers. Title-page lightly soiled. A little light spotting.

ARecusant Edition with a Description of the
    Shroud of Turin — 26 Full-Page Engravings

Paleotti, Alfonso, Daniel Mallonius, & Marco Vigerio.

•  Though issued under a common title as the Historia admiranda, the De Iesu Christi stigmatibus sacrae sindoni impressis and the Decachordum Christianum are actually two separate works. The earlier, Decachordum Christianum, which constitutes vol. II of the Historia admiranda, is by Marco Cardinal Vigerio (1446–1516). It was first published in 1507, and discusses the mysteries of Christ’s life from the Annunciation through Pentecost with many side trips. A supplementary piece by the same author on the instruments ofthe Passion follows. This edition of these two pieces of Vigerio was edited by Richard Gibbons (1550–1632), a noted English recusant scholar and Jesuit priest who spent most of his career at Douai teaching as well as translating, editing, and annotating various learned works.

Preceding the Decachordum Christianum is the De Jesu Christi stigmatibus, a discussion of the wounds of Christ as found on the shroud of Turin, composed by Alfonso Paleotti (1531–1610) archbishop of Bologna. His discussion of the shroud is interspersed with a more forensic analysis of the sufferings endured by Jesus, by Daniel Mallonius, an Italian Hieronymite priest. This was first published separately in 1606.



This 1607 edition of the Historia admiranda is apparentlythe first joint publication of these works under this title, and it was followed by a 1616 edition. In this edition the De Jesu Christi stigmatibus opens with an engraved title-page and has16 full-page engravings illustrating the shroud of Turin from both front and back, as well as the wounds of Christ and the instruments of the Passion. The Decahordum christianum has10 full-page engravings showing scenes from the life of Christ, that of the Annunciation being strikingly beautiful. Though continuous in pagination, the supplementary De excellentia instrumentorum Dominicae Passionis by Vigerio has its own sectional title-page incorporating a striking engraved vignette of Christ as the man of sorrows. Both volumes are printed withwoodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, and sidenotes.

Allison & Rogers report European holdings of this, but we tracednone in the U.S.

•    Allison & Rogers, Catholic Books 590, see also the note on p. 105; Shaaber G275. Vellum over paste boards, with slightly yapp edges and holes for ties apparent; somewhat spotted and soiled, covers lightly sprung. Spine with inked title and remnants of paper label; tears at head. Front hinge (inside) repaired. Remnants of library booklabel on front pastedown and small stamp of a private club on rear free endpaper; endpapers and title-page of vol. I with light soiling and an excision from the top margin. Inked ownership inscription on recto of front free endpaper. Pages with occasional light soiling. All edges green, though rubbed.

Otomí Beata — AnIndian Woman Memorialized

Paredes, Antonio de.

•  Salvadora de los Santos was born into a cacique family in 1701 in the mining town of Fresnillo, had a difficult early childhood, lost the use of her legs early in life and then regained it, was her family’s shepherdess, had a religious awakening, joined the beaterio (residence of pious women) of the Carmelite Nuns in Querétaro, and gained a strong reputation for curing the poor of a variety of ailments.

Paredes, a Jesuit who seems to have personally known his subject, saw the first edition of the Carta edificante come off the press in 1758. There were reprintings in 1763, 1784, and this one. All are sparsely held.

Biographies of colonial-era Indian women are extremely rare in that few were written and print runs of them seem to have been small. In this particular instance the scarcity is indicated by the fact that we trace only two copies in U.S. libraries of this edition.

•  Medina, Mexico, 8120; DeBacker-Sommervogel, VI, 209. Contemporary limp vellum. 19th-century private ownership stamps on pastedowns. Scattered spots, none serious: Very nice.

Handsome — Seminal   

in Juan Diego’sOWN LANGUAGE

•  First edition of this renowned work in Nahuatl and Spanish by the century's greatest student of the Aztec language. Produced by one of Mexico's best 18th-century presses, it is composed of 52 sermons and 40 moral discussions in Nahuatl meant to explain points of Catholic theology. At the end, in Nahuatl, is a sermon on the Virgin of Guadalupe incorporating the history of Her apparition.

The work begins with one of the most famous colonial-era engravings—signed by Zapata—showing St. Ignatius above a tableau representing the peoples of the world. The detailed title-page and beautiful full-page woodcut coat of arms are present and spotless. The printer has also employed various handsome woodcut head- and tail-pieces at different points in the text.

Single-click either image, where the hand appears on
mouse-over, for an enlargement.

•  Viñaza 344; García Icazbalceta, Lenguas, 57; Medina, Mexico, 4568; León-Portilla, Tepuztlahcuilolli, 2082; Sabin 58575; De Backer-Sommervogel, VI, 211–212; Burrus & Grajales 206. 19th-century quarter sheep; worn but solid. Binding with the Mexican bindery ticket of Román Mendoza. Ownership inscription incorporated into the frontispiece. A rather nice copy of this rarity!

Banned! in Mexico

•  Will Pascal ever be admitted to the libraries of devout Roman Catholics? The author of this extended essay, who styles himself "Un Leonés" and who signs himself with the initials "J.I.A.," cautions a supposed subscriber to a new edition of Pascal's letters that they are riddled with Jansenist heresy and that the pope still prohibits the devout from reading them.

•  Sutro 756 ("19p." being a typographical error for collation given here); not in Steele, Independent Mexico: A Collection of Mexican Pamphlets in the Bodleian Library. Folded and never sewn or bound; as issued.

Starting with the Case ofTITHING
  “Amongst the [Ancient] Jews”

Pearson, Anthony.

•  First published in 1657 and still in print in 1835, this influential piece is here in an 18th-century Irish edition—representing, with the prior London issue of the same year, its first reprinting since its initial burst of popularity. Pearson, a justice of the peace in Westmoreland who became a follower of George Fox, began his consideration of tithing prompted by the court actions directed against Quakers who chose not to pay tithes. The resulting treatise analyzes the legal, ethical, and religious arguments for and against forcible tithing, concluding that the practice is corrupt and in violation of Scriptural principles, as well as a distastefully Popish innovation. Holdings of this item outside the U.K. are uncommon.

•  ESTC T97511. On Pearson, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, XLIV, 161–62. Removed from a nonce volume, with sewing holes, and now in a Mylar folder. Title-page with early inked ownership inscription; title-page also lightly stamped by a now-defunct institution. Somewhat embrittled, with a few short edge tears.

A Reforming 13th-CenturyENGLISH Bishop

•  Roger de Weseham, bishop of Lichfield (d. 1257), was a scholarly cleric noted for his reform of his diocese (following the example of his patron, Robert Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln) and for his devotion to the cure of souls. This is the sole edition of this biography of Weseham, and was written by Samuel Pegge (1704–96), a priest of the Church of England and antiquary known for his collections of coins and medals and his historical writings.
Single-click the image for an enlargement.

•  ESTC T98695. On Roger de Weseham, see: The Dictionary of National Biography,LX, 297–98. On Samuel Pegge, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, XLIV, 233–35. In recent marbled wrappers. Uncut copy with nice wide margins; deckle edges with some soiling and a few chipped or dog-eared corners with no loss of impression. Paper lightly age-toned.

Observations onHis Andean Flock

•  First printed in 1668, this is a very important study by the Bishop of Quito, Ecuador, on the Andean Indians—their society, laws, customs, history, and beliefs. Composed in order to better prepare priests for the task of proselytizing them, it is a most important ethnohistorical source for the study of colonial-era (and by inference, pre-contact) Andean Indians.

This third edition (as listed in Palau) has a very useful index directing the reader to such sections as treat of “coca,” “tobacco,” “slavery,” “superstition,” and much more.

•  Alden & Landis, European Americana, 698/163; Medina, BHA, 1986; Palau 217534; Sabin 59624. Contemporary calf, much worn and with much loss at head, and less at foot, of spine. Paper rather browned; some worming and a few small burn holes, resulting in loss of parts of words. Some staining and foxing, mostly light, and not obscuring text. Ownership inscriptions and notations, some crossed out, on verso of title-leaf. All edges red.

For aCatholic Independent Mexico

•  Antonio Joaquín Pérez Martínez (1763–1829), bishop of Puebla de los Angeles, had worked for Mexican independence since 1811; he signed the Act of Independence of 23 September 1821 and was president of the provisional junta that governed Mexico immediately following independence. He was an advocate of a Catholic constitutional monarchy for Mexico, and, prior to independence on 11 March 1821, gave this speech to the members of the electoral junta of the province of Puebla, arguing for that position as the new form of the Mexican state and against the attempt to establish a secular republic on the French Revolutionary model. Scarce: Only two copies were traced via NUC Pre-1956, OCLC, and RLIN.

•  Garritz, Impresos novohispanos, 5136; Gavito, Adiciones a la imprenta en la Puebla de los Ángeles, 922; not in Sutro. Uncut and untrimmed copy; folded but not stitched. Some soiling in the top margins; a small rust stain on pp. 3–4 obscuring individual letters without loss of sense.

Handsome Tall“PUZZLE” Initial

•  Peter Riga’s Aurora, a verse paraphrase of the Bible including commentary composed near the end of the 12th century, served as a useful memory aid for students of the Scriptures. This leaf is from an English university text of the Aurora, an early form of it most probably written early in the 13th century. The text on this leaf is Gospels, Aurora 11.120–211, including the narrative of the Annunciation, and the leaf’s format is the long narrow one commonly used for English university texts. It was most likely produced at Oxford, where there grew up a thriving center of manuscript production.

The recto here has a four-line blue and red “puzzle”initial with pen tracery also in blue and red, the tracery and one leg of the initial extending most of the length of the page. (“Puzzle” initials are inked to appear as if made up of colored “pieces”—like a jigsaw puzzle—and they are distinctively, if not uniquely, a feature of English and French 13th-century manuscripts.) There are also leafy ornamental pen flourishes in black ink in the recto’s upper inside margin, and the verso has 1 three-line blue initial and 1 five-line red initial—each of these initials having pen flourishes in the contrasting color (i.e., blue or red).

The text hand used is the small compact Gothic textura used in the 13th century to economize space, which script predates the development of cursive book hands later used for the same purpose; and it is different from that used for the other two Aurora leaves that we have seen from this manuscript. This leaf’s black ink is also darker.

The text is written in one column of 50 lines on the recto and 49 lines on the verso. The scribe has corrected a number of words. The page is faintly ruled in lead on the verso only, the impression of the ruling showing on the recto and the top line of text being above the top line of ruling; on the right edge of the page are double rules enclosing the first letter of each line. At the bottom of the verso is the quire number XII and remnants of a catchword can just be seen at right on the bottom edge. English manuscripts from this period are rare.

Provenance: Ex–Zion Research Foundation (later known as the Endowment for Biblical Research); very likely to Zion from Ege.

•  Judith, Manuscripts Sacred and Secular, 18, f. 10. Parchment a little soiled, especially on the hair side, as is not unusual with English vellum. Traces of adhesive from mounting on the corners of the verso.

English University Text — Oxford, 1210? — Blood Sacrifice

•  The text on this leaf is Leviticus, Aurora, 11.419–508, with a discussion of blood sacrifice and of the relation of Old Testament sacrifice to that of Christ.

It is written in brown ink in the small compact Gothic textura used in the 13th century to economize space, which script predates the development of cursive book hands later used for similar texts. It is written in the long narrow format commonly used for English university texts, and was most likely produced at Oxford, where there grew up a thriving center of manuscript production. The recto has 1 four-line red initial, a four-line blue initial, a two-line red initial, and a two-line blue initial. The verso has 1 three-line red initial. Each of these has pen flourishes in the contrasting color (i.e., blue or red).

The text is written in one column of 51 lines on the recto and 49 on the verso. The leaf is faintly ruled in lead on the verso only, the impression of the ruling showing on the recto and the top line of text being above the top line of ruling; on the right edge of the page are double rules enclosing the first letter of each line. English manuscripts from this period are rare.

Provenance: Ex–Zion Research Foundation (later known as the Endowment for Biblical Research); very likely to Zion from Ege.

•  Judith, Manuscripts Sacred and Secular, 18, f. 8. An open hole in the outer edge from a natural flaw in the vellum. Parchment somewhat soiled, especially on the hair side, as is not unusual with English vellum. Traces of adhesive from mounting on the corners of the verso.

For an OXFORD "shelf,"  click here.

A “Puzzle” Initial M —Oxford, 1210?

•  Peter Riga’s Aurora, a verse paraphrase of the Bible including commentary composed near the end of the 12th century, served as a useful memory aid for students of the Scriptures. This leaf is from an English university text of the Aurora, an early form of it most probably written early in the 13th century. The text on this leaf is Ruth, Aurora 1.62–I Kings, Aurora 1.84, including the narrative of the birth of Samuel.

It is written in brown ink in the small compact Gothic textura used in the 13th century to economize space, which script predates the development of cursive book hands later used for the same purpose. It is written in the long narrow format commonly used for English university texts, and was most likely produced at Oxford, where there grew up a thriving center of manuscript production. The recto has 1 five-line red initial with pen tracery in blue and afive-line blue and red “puzzle”initial with pen tracery also in blue and red. (“Puzzle” initials are inked to appear as if made up of colored “pieces”—like a jigsaw puzzle—and they are distinctively, if not uniquely, a feature of English and French 13th-century manuscripts.) The verso has 3 two-line red initials, 1 three-line, and 1 two-line blue initials—each of these initials has pen flourishes in the contrasting color (i.e., blue or red).

The text is written in one column of 50 lines on the recto and 51 lines on the verso. The leaf is faintly ruled in lead on the verso only, the impression of the ruling showing on the recto, the top line of text being above the top line of ruling; on the right edge of the page are double rules enclosing the first letter of each line. On the outer edge are prickings for the ruling. The left edge of the recto has directions to the rubricator, the explicits of each section being done in darker ink in a different hand. One line on the verso has been crossed out with a single thin line of ink. At the bottom of the verso is the quire number VIII and remnants of a catchword can just be seen at right on the bottom edge. English manuscripts from this period are rare.

Provenance: Ex–Zion Research Foundation (later known as the Endowment for Biblical Research); very likely to Zion from Ege.

•  Judith, Manuscripts Sacred and Secular, 18, f. 9. A small hole in the lower margin. Parchment a little soiled, especially on the hair side, as is not unusual with English vellum. Traces of adhesive from mounting on the corners of the verso.

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The Doctor Sufficiens Comments onLombard

Pietro dell’Aquila.

•  Peter of Aquila (1275–1361) was a Franciscan and bishop of Angelo whose theological acumen earned him the title of doctor sufficiens, the able doctor, while his devotion to Duns Scotus earned him the cognomen “Scotellus.”The present work is a commentary on the sentences of Peter Lombard (ca. 1095–1160), which present “the whole of Christian doctrine in one brief volume on the basis of Scripture, the Fathers, and the Doctors”(NCE).



This handsome edition is printed in a round Italian gothic typeface of the sort used for theological works. Guide letters have been printed for initials (unaccomplished); the title-page gives the title above a poem in praise of Peter of Aquila. A table of the questions precedes the text, and at the end is a simply printed register and colophon, with a cipher SL as the printer’s mark. The editio princeps of this work was published in 1480, and two other incunable editions preceded this, the first 16th-century edition. This edition is uncommon: we were able to trace only three copies in the U.S.

Binding: Deep walnut full calf old style (showing lighter than it is, in our picture): Round spine with raised bands, accented in gilt and with blind-tooled devices in compartments, and with oxblood leather labels, gilt-lettered; fillets extending onto covers from each band to terminate in trefoils and covers framed in blind double fillets.

•  Adams P876. On Peter of Aquila, see: New Catholic Encyclopedia, XI, 210. On Peter Lombard, see: New Catholic Encyclopedia, XI, 221–22. Binding as above; library rubber-stamps, including on title- and last (blank) page. Light waterstaining throughout. a1–8 with chipping or bumping on corners, more obvious on the lower inner and outer corners, not touching print. Title-page very lightly soiled with a few spots of staining. Two inked ownership inscriptions on title-page; some terse marginalia; inked title on fore-edge.

How Religious ShouldASPIRE to Spiritual Perfection

•  This Treatise on Religious Perfection by Luca Pinelli, S.J. sets forth the right conduct of monastic and religious life, with the intent of assisting religious toward greater spiritual perfection. It was originally written in Italian (1601), and is here offered in a very early Spanish-language edition (first Spanish, 1604)—translated by another Jesuit, Pablo José de Arriaga, who also wrote the highly important Extirpación de idolatría en el Pirú (Lima, 1621).

This work was also translated into English (1618) for the recusant community. And the printer here, Juan de la Cuesta, also produced the first edition of Don Quixote. An interesting book for a variety of reasons!

•  Palau 226470; DeBacker-Sommervogel, VI, 810 & I, 576. Limp vellum with remnants of ties, cockled with a little light soiling; hinges (inside) open, and text partially detached from binding. Lacking one text leaf (last of Book II); tear into fol. 166 with loss of letters. Corners bumped, some dog ears, light soiling, and spots of staining. The title-page vignette (the device of the Society of Jesus) has been excised, and a leaf has been pasted between the title- and following leaf, with another device showing through the hole left by the excision.

The End ofJapan’s Christian Century

•  At the beginning of the 17th century Japan was a wonderful and at the same time frightening place for Europeans to be. In the last decades of the 16th century the Europeans who had begun arriving in the island empire in 1542 had achieved a secure status, trade was well established and profitable, and the concomitant introduction of Christianity was progressing. In 1585 the first embassy from Japan arrived in Europe, creating an international stir and seeming to signal the empire’s opening its doors to the Old World. In 1614 a second embassy reached Rome; but by the time it returned, the doorway to the rest of the world was closing again and European clergy, their converts, and merchant brethren were being arrested, tortured, and publicly punished, often with death.
Single-click any image save the spine's, for an enlargement.

Father Pinheiro was a Jesuit who served his order as visitor in Asia beginning in 1591. In 1617 he published, at Madrid, his famous book concerning the worsening situation: Relacion del sucesso que tuvo nuestra santa fe en los reynos del Japon, desde el año de seyscientos doze hasta el de seyscientos y quinze. This is the first edition in French and the first translation into any language of Pinherio’s acount.

•  Palau 226933; DeBacker Somervogel, VI, 817–18; Streit, Bibliotheca missionum, V, 1192. Recent full calf by Grace (signed at rear, “GB”); raised bands accented by double gilt beading above and below each band, a gilt center device in each compartment, gilt borders on covers, blind inner dentelles. Two areas of title-page excised and replaced in facsimile (approximately 20 letters total). Fore-edges of 20 leaves slightly rodent gnawed with small loss of paper. A very decent copy of a very uncommon and important book.

Printed in Black & Red — Woodcut Initials — PLANTIN LEAVES

•  The leaves fall into two groups, all leaves having woodcut historiated initials measuring about 30 x 30 mm or 1 1/4" by 1 1/4", not colored or illuminated but bordered and highlighted in red. *) Some have TWO initials, one on each side of the leaf. Please note: That is "one on back, one on front" — not, "one in each column on the same side."
Each: $35.00

Available AT THIS WRITING, subject to prior sale: L (group of four shepherds with their sheep) & S (unidentified saint with orb); and M & I (Sts. Peter and Paul).

*) Some have single initials
Each: $30.00

Available AT THIS WRITING, subject to prior sale: C (the Israelites gathering manna), D (man kneeling in prayer, before a radiance), I, L, M (woman giving alms), S, and V (the Ascension).

•  Each leaf is offered unmatted, in a museum-recommended and -approved clear Mylar sleeve that will allow it to be enjoyed without worry of soiling it with hand oils or dust.

BENEDICTINES Come to the New World
with COLUMBUS

A FINE Engraved Title-Page & 18 Splendid Plates

•  Curiously enough, the dedicatee of this work, Caspar Plautius, is certainly also its author, writing under the pseudonym of Honorius Philoponus. Plautius was abbot of Seitenstetten in Lower Austria, and no doubt wrote as a compliment to a fellow Benedictine: Bernard Buil or Boyl of Montserrat, appointed by the pope vicar general of the Indies, who, with others of the order, accompanied Columbus on his second voyage as missionaries. In the style of a medieval legendary, Nova typis transacta navigatio novi orbis Indiae occidentalis relates first the westward voyage of St. Brendan, then the exploits of the Boyl and his fellow monks, including some description of the customs of the American native peoples they met, with their lands, their agriculture, their feast customs, et al. Boyl’s missionary enterprise failed, and sadly he is now only remembered for his mordant criticism of Columbus.

This book bears an ornate, emblematic engraved title-page, with portraits of St. Brendan and Boyl and more, and no fewer than 18 leaf-filling plates by Wolfgang Kilian. These plates, which mixfancy and realism in entirely engaging ways, include a portrait of Columbus, a scene of St. Brendan celebrating mass on the back of a whale, botanical images of the marvelous Peruvian potato, and numerous views of the missionaries’interaction with the natives, some friendly, and some not—the unfriendliest being notably violent and gory. Also, on p. 35–36 is given an example of purportednative American music, with both words and notation. This copy is one (probably the first) of two states of this sole edition (with only three leaves in the preliminaries), without the additional foldout plate found in some copies.

Binding: Contemporary speckled calf, spine gilt-extra, with a red leather title label. Red, blue, yellow, and green endpapers. All edges speckled red. (Our image in this early "edition" of our description is a bit distorted; we expect to fix that, before general publication.)

•  Alden & Landis, European Americana, 621/100; Sabin 63367; Palau 224762. Binding as above and shown at left (distortion noted), chipped on corners and at head and foot of spine. Small wormholes visible on inside of covers, running into margins of pages and plates, and a few closed tears, neither affecting print or plates. Engraved title remounted. Small stains, light spots of waterstaining, and light soiling. A very covetable illustrated Americanum of the early 17th century, in an enjoyable copy.

Single-click any image above, for an enlargement.

Moral Lessons for theAcademic Theatre

•  Bordelet’s rare 1761 edition by the esteemed Barbou firm — indeed we find no copies traced via RLIN, OCLC, or NUC Pre-1956 — of Charles Porée’s Dramatic Fables: Porée (1675–1741) was a French Jesuit, and from 1708 until his death professor of rhetoric at Paris. First published in 1749, this collection is composed of five Latin plays (each previously published separately) set forth as moral fables, the Paezophilus, the Coecus amor patrum, the Misoponus, the Liberi coacti, and the Philedonus.

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel, VI, 1030. Contemporary mottled calf with something more than remnants of sumptuous gilt on spines. Marbled endpapers. All edges speckled red. Joints open, but sewing holding; leather dry and flaking. Endpapers and leaves with light foxing, a few darker stains of spotting and a few instances of holing without loss of impression. Rubber-stamps on front fly-leaf. Bookplate on front pastedown; inked notations on endpapers and fly-leaves.

EarlyU.S. Catholicum

•  Fr. Power was a native of Ireland, rector of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in New York City and vicar-general of the diocese, and noted for his travels in ministering to the faithful as well as for authoring books of Catholic instruction, including this work to assist Catholics in understanding their faith and in supporting themselves against the criticisms of Protestants. The foldout table gives a list of the popes as well as an overview of the papal constitution of the Church.

First of two editions: It is interesting to note that the second was published in Belfast, Ireland, in 1827.

•  Shoemaker 17681; Parsons 835. Contemporary calf, covers framed with gilt fillets and roll and spine divided into compartments by quintuple gilt fillets and small floral devices; spine with gilt-lettered title, the papal keys, and the Lamb of God gilt. Binding much abraded and flaked with loss of leather over corners and joints open (covers all but detached). Marbled endpapers. Light to moderate foxing inside and a little light staining; table with fold marks, some soiling, and tattering on outside edge. Rubber-stamp on verso of title-leaf. Volume housed in a clamshell case of blue cloth.

Please Bring Backthe Jesuits

•  A petition, with the names of all subscribers, presented via the Puebla town council to the national congress seeking the reestablishment of the Society of Jesus in Mexico. Scarce: only two copies traced via NUC Pre-1956, OCLC, and RLIN.

•  Sutro 360; not in Palau; not in DeBacker-Sommervogel; not in Steele, Independent Mexico. Folded and sewn; light waterstaining and first four leaves a bit crumpled; a wormhole throughout, with loss of parts of individual letters but no loss of sense. A few old pencillings of a library nature.

Getting It Right . . . Rubricæ Missalis Romani

Quarti, Paolo Maria.

•  Proper and legal performance of the liturgy, and especially of the Mass, was an overriding concern—one might say an obsession—of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church up until the II Vatican Council. Printing had made possible the standardization of liturgical texts and rubrics to a degree unknown in the middle ages; the Holy See issued a whole series of directions to avoid heresy, sacrilege, or an invalid celebration; and Jansenism made scrupulosity the order of the day. Commentaries like this one, printed in small type and focussing on every little thing that could possibly go wrong with the Mass, became more and more common: educating clergy in how to celebrate the liturgy flawlessly according to the rubrics.

This is the second edition of this commentary on the rubrics of the Mass by Paulo Maria Quarti (fl. ca. 1663), a clerk regular; it was first published in 1674, but here carries added commentaries on processions, including the Litany of the Saints, and on blessings. The title-page is handsomely printed in red and black with a woodcut vignette, and the text is simply ornamented with a few remarkable woodcut initials and headpieces. Scarce.

•  Quarter treed paper over vellum; quaint paper title label in red and black. Some abrasion to spine and edges; endpapers wormed; hinges (inside) open, with sewing holding to visible flat “cords.” Foxing, variously. Vellum page tab at the beginning of De Processionibus.

Poems on Sacred Themes . . . & Gardens

•  Selected works of René Rapin (1621–87), a French Jesuit, professor of rhetoric, and much-acclaimed Latin poet: this is the first edition of the Barbou brothers’ collection of his sacred eclogues, his poem on gardens, and his shorter works, including his poem on the suffering Christ. The work is simply if fetchingly printed by the esteemed Barbou firm in the style of the period with occasional xylographic head- and tailpieces and initials.

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel VI, 1453–54. Contemporary speckled calf with remnants of sumptuous gilt on spines and edges of covers. Joints open, but sewing holding; leather dry and flaking with significant loss of spine of vol. II. All edges speckled red. Front free endpaper of vol I. detached. Paper with some light soiling, occasional spotting, and a few instances of chipping without loss of impression. Bookplates on front pastedowns; a few rubber-stamps; inked inscriptions on title-pages, now marked out.

A Froben Press Compendium ofEarly Church History

•  Humanist scholar Beatus Rhenanus (1485–1547) was an associate and biographer of Erasmus who lived with Johann Froben for 15 years, producing editions of significant Classical and Patristic texts for his press. This compendium of early church history combines the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius with works of Theodoret of Antioch, Sozomen, Socrates of Constantinople, and others. It was the last of Beatus’s editions of ancient texts—hereafter he turned to historiography.

This first edition has the woodcut Froben device on the title-page with a larger version of the same at the colophon, and is printed with “great dignity and style” (Updike) in Froben’s handsome roman type with some italic and Greek. The text, accompanied by numerous sidenotes, is decorated with a handsome woodcut border on a1^r and bears large woodcut historiated initials (approximately 4.5 cm or 1.75" square) with accompanying headpieces at the beginning of each chapter.

Binding: Deep walnut full calf old style: Round spine with raised bands, accented in gilt and with blind-tooled devices in compartments; burgundy leather labels. Fillets extend onto covers from each band to terminate in trefoils and covers are framed in blind double fillets.

•  Adams E1090. On Rhenanus, see: Contemporaries of Erasmus, I, 104–109. On Froben’s typography, see: Updike, Printing Types, I, 142–43. Binding as above. A censor has heavily lined out the name of Rhenanus on the title-page and aa3r. Light soiling on title-page, wormhole in inside margin of aa1–2 (not affecting impression). Occasional light age-toning or -spotting. Lightly cockled. A substantial, handsome folio Froben.

Festivities at theUniversity

Rodríguez Guillén, Pedro,

•  Rodríguez Guillén was a distinguished orator and teacher in Lima at the end of the 17th century and during the first four decades of the 18th. Here he edits a large corpus of sermons, prayers, panegyrics, and descriptions of festivities in connection with the occasion of five Franciscans’ receiving masters degrees at the University of San Marcos. These descriptions include detailed portrayals of the examination of each candidate—the questions asked and responses given. The festivities took place over the span of a week, and among the orators were several “heavy hitters,” including José de Peralta Barnuevo y Rocha, the bishop-elect of Buenos Aires, and Father Alvaro Cabero, S.J. Peralta gave two orations and they appear on pp. 88–94 and 103–07.

Also found here is a word picture of the coat of arms of the university, but curiously not a woodcut of it. The stout volume was printed at the short-lived press that Antonio José Gutiérrez de Cevallos established in 1737 and was forced to give up in 1740 when he went to work for another printer. The typography is well–laid out but the type is clearly old and very much used. Gutiérrez had several interesting woodcut ornaments that he used effectively as tailpieces, and some very interesting initials are contained in woodcut frames reminiscent of renaissance title-page borders, reduced in size.

There are errata for the prefatory matter on pp. [75–76] and a topical index appears at the end.

•  Medina, Lima, 925; Vargas Ugarte, Impresos peruanos, 1467; Palau 274101. Contemporary limp vellum, yapp edges, manuscript title on spine. Contemporary marca de fuego (ownership brand) on top edge. Internally bright, clean, and crisp. A very good copy.

On Death

•  Sermon by the provincial prior of the Order of Preachers discussing death, dead priests, and salvation—topics of interest to many as the war for independence, with its heavy casualties, wound down. (At least two library databases list this author’s name with the alternate spelling of “Roxas.”)

•  Medina, Mexico, 12092; Garritz, Impresos novohispanos, 5236. Sewn, in plain wrappers; some wear to front one. A clean copy.

TheRoyal Blessed Sacrament Guild     

•  When the king and queen of Spain embraced the promotion of the Congregación del Alumbrado y Vela Continua del Santísimo Sacramento del Altar (to promote and maintain lights before the Blessed Sacrament), and thus allowed the use of "Real" as part of the religious organization's name, they sent an unmistakable signal to the elite of Mexico. The counts, marqueses, and hidalgos quickly set about establishing the Congregación in the capital, and the rich faithful held a major inaugural event for it—dutifully printing the resounding sermon that opened the day's events. This was preached by Ruíz, a native of Spain who held many important posts in Mexico, including that of headmaster of the Cathedral school.

•  Medina, Mexico, 8303; Palau 281807. Removed from a nonce volume. Wormhole and some tattering, resulting in loss of parts of individual words, apparently without loss of sense.

By a Priest in Puebla   

•  A bilingual (Nahuatl and Spanish) confessionary reduced to the absolutely essential elements, and featuring Nahuatl of the early 19th century, with some bias towards that variety spoken in the Puebla–Tlaxcala region. Designed for the non–Nahuatl speaking priest and interested laity. The preface is signed “J.J.P.”

•  Viñaza 449; Pilling, Proof-Sheets, 849; Leon-Portilla, Tepuztlahcuicolli, 681. Not in: Newberry Library, Ayer Collection; García Icazbalceta, Lenguas. Original plain wrapper, soiled; a very good copy.

Jesuits’ Exercises

•  A later edition: First appeared 1646. Nicely produced by an important printer. No reported copies in the U.S. of this edition.

•  This edition not in Palau; nor in DeBacker-Sommervogel, but see: VII, 453–454. Contemporary limp vellum, lacking ties. Starting to loosen from binding at rear; still, a good copy.

Pastoral Letters — Lima, 1841

•  Written as archbishop-elect of Lima.

•  Not in Palau. Modern light wrappers, lacking original wrappers. Nice clean copy.

“No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”

•  Collection of documents about the Jesuit missions in Paraguay, the most noteworthy of the Spanish missions in the New World. Having made many converts, introduced printing and published dictionaries and grammars of the local languages, and been otherwise successful there, the Jesuits were envied and persecuted, especially by the Franciscan local bishop Cardenas, as this collection of documents related to their troubles in the period 1644–60 attests.

The publication must have been especially poignant in 1768, when the Jesuits had just been expelled from Spain and all of its empire, including Paraguay!

•  Palau 56511. Contemporary brown sheep; spines gilt extra, each with two morocco gilt-lettered labels (vol. I lacking one). Leather abraded, but shellacked, with a little chipping and a few wormholes; joints partially open, most noticeably on vol. II, volumes yet strong. Marbled endpapers. Pages generally crisp and clean with occasional light foxing, heavier in a few places. All edges red. Vols. I and II only of 4.

Rare ILLUSTRATED "Incunable Bonaerense"

•  The press of the Niños Expósitos, at which this item was printed, was the first identifiable and successful press in Buenos Aires. It was located in a boys' orphanage and served as a training tool as well as a practical, government-related press.

Fray Eugenio's Trisagio seráfico was a very popular book in Latin America during the colonial and early independence eras and was printed in several cities, several times. It was first printed in Buenos Aires in 1781 with subsequent Porteño editions in 1784, 1790, 1795, and 1805. All are scarce or rare, and that of 1781 has the decided distinction of containing the earliest known engraving accomplished in Buenos Aires. It is believed that only one exemplar of that edition has survived complete with the engraving.

An engraving is also an important and unique feature of this exemplar of the 1795 edition. Present in this copy is an engraving of the Trinity: That engraving is not mentioned in any bibliography of the press nor, apparently, in any monograph on engraving in colonial Buenos Aires. Medina based his entry for this very rare book on an incomplete copy in the library of the Lamas family, lacking both the engraved plate and the final leaf. Furlong based his entry on Father Juan Pedro Grenón's copy (seen in Córdoba), and claimed that there are two unnumbered pages of text following p. 46. This does not jibe in any way with reality: There is only one page of text following 46, and it is clearly numbered "47." Furlong's description also fails to mention the engraving of the Trinity.

The copper-engraving present in this exemplar of this edition is different from that which appeared in the 1781 edition and has definite indications of being a previously unknown, as well as an early, example of the art as practiced in this viceregal capital. From surviving records of the press, Trostiné provides a list of plates that the press paid to have engraved: One is of the Trinity in 16mo format, but it is totally unclear whether the reference is to this illustration, to the Trinity appearing in the 1781 edition, or to an as-yet-undiscovered treasure. Rather than attempt to describe the illustration in words, we have reproduced it above.

The actual copper-plate has either been cut down or masked in the lower potion, removing the name of the engraver and affecting the caption.

Inquiries of the British Library, the Biblioteca Nacional de Argentina, the Biblioteca de la Universidad de La Plata, the John Carter Brown Library, the Lilly Library, the Nettie Lee Benson Collection of Latin Americana of the University of Texas, the Bancroft Library, and the Library of Congress failed to discover any other copy of this edition of the Trisagio seráfico.

•  Furlong, Historia y bibliografía de las primeras imprentas rioplatenses, 1700-1850; La imprenta en Buenos Aires, 461 (erroneous information); Medina, Historia y bibliografía de la imprenta en el antiguo vireinato del Río de la Plata, 181 (incomplete copy); not in Zinny, Bibliografía histórica de las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata . . . 1780 hasta . . . 1821; Trostiné, El grabado en la Argentina durante el período hispánico, 1619, and 28-31. Modern marbled boards with leather label on front cover. A copy that has been exposed to the damp with varying degrees of staining. Foremargins chipped and irregular. Approximately 20% of title-page torn away, affecting or costing several words of the title but not touching the imprint information; title-page backed. Not a pristine copy, but a covetable one given the rarity and importance of the edition.

Natural Law — Jesuit Author

•  Ignaz Schwarz (1690–1763) was a Jesuit and a professor of humanities, philosophy, and history. In this four-part work he discusses the philosophical foundation of natural law and its basic applications, in the process discussing matters as diverse as the nature of moral acts; the law of the family; slavery, employment and service; the nature of property; sovereignty; just war and the law of war; and treaties and other elements of what is now known as international law. Schwarz critiques Protestant authors, such as Grotius, Puffendorf, Heineccius, and Thomasius, and other writers on these subjects, pointing out where they agree with and where they differ from Catholic teaching.

He first published his Institutiones juris in 1741, and, according to DeBacker-Sommervogel, this is the third of six editions. Present here are parts 1 and 2 of 4, in which, however, all the matters above listed are discussed. This edition is printed with the title-page in red and black, a woodcut headpiece and tailpieces, and a plethora of side- and footnotes.

Provenance: Inked inscription on title-page, "Rodriguez de Arellano."

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel, VII, 948. Limp vellum with remnants of ties; spine with inked title. Scattered spots of staining to spine and rear cover. Pp. 41–42 of the first series of pagination has a large chip out of the upper outer corner with loss of page numbers but no text. Pp. 155–56 has a tear in the outer margin, not touching text. Occasional worming in the outer margins, not touching text. Scattered age-spotting; a few occasions of light waterstaining in the outer margins.

Schism dis-arm'd — Sole Edition

•  John Sergeant (1622–1707) converted to Catholicism from the Church of England after researching the history of the early Church. He was ordained to the priesthood and undertook a career as a controversialist against Protestantism, writing many works. This one is a Catholic answer to Henry Hammond's (1605–60) Of Schisme, and John Bramhall's (1594–1663) Just Vindication of the Church of England from the Unjust Aspersion of Criminal Schism. Hammond and Bramhall were leading Anglican divines of the high-church party, and in attacking them Sergeant reveals the influence that that party still commanded, even at its lowest ebb under Cromwell. His argument is largely a defense of the Papacy against those who would assert the historical independence of the Church of England. This is the sole edition.

Provenance:  On the recto of the second front fly-leaf is a presentation inscription: "For my honnord & best frind, Master John Bulteel." The most likely John Bulteel is the one who was created M.A. at Oxford in 1661, and later served as secretary to Edward, Earl of Clarendon.

•  Wing S2589; ESTC R6168; Clancy, English Catholic Books, 1641–1700, 897. On Sergeant, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, LI, 251–53. On Bramhall, see: DNB, VI, 203–206. On Hammond, see: DNB, XXIV, 242–46. Contemporary mottled calf, with remnants of modest double gilt rules on covers; rubbed and joints open but sewing holding. Browning from turn-ins on fly-leaves.

Anti-Jesuit — Les alarmes  

•  Directed at the king and the queen regent, this anonymous polemic decries the Jesuit influence and predicts imminent doom for France.

•  Lindsay & Neu 3203. Cloth-taped into cardboard library binding, four leaves pressure-stamped, paper label at top of first page touching caption title. Two leaves separated.

Huguenot–Catholic"Overview"

(16th-Century French Politics).

•  Written near the height of the great French Huguenot–Catholic turmoil; the author weighs the arguments of both sides.

•  Lindsay & Neu 1439. Cloth-taped into cardboard library binding, title-page and five others pressure-stamped.

Many 16th- and 17th-century PAMPHLETS of this ilk are now
reviewable via the "button" BOOKS IN FRENCH —click here.

Jesuits in Missouri (1848)

•  The membership of the fifth, Missouri, province of the Society of Jesus, with assignments and status, entirely printed from etched plates.

•  In printed self wrappers; spine rebacked with paper. Some light foxing, a few upper outer corners chipped. Rubber-stamps from a now-defunct library, including one on front wrapper. (7168)

HonoringSt. Francis de Sales

Single-click the image for an enlargement.

•  Broadside announcements of university degree defenses and competitions for university “chairs” are as a class rare, sought after, and handsomely printed. Those for the University of Guatemala during the colonial period are among the hardest to find, and those printed by Beteta at the beginning of the 19th century are examples ofthe finest printing being done in the Americas at that time.

Broadsides were "originally issued primarily by governmental, religious, and political bodies[;] broadsides were later used for advertisements, programs, notices, ballad verses, elegies, and comments on contemporary events. . . . Broadsides are an important resource for many disciplines, since they exemplify the popular culture of their day and contribute to a knowledge of the periods in which they were produced. They are particularly valuable as sources for the study of . . . history, literature, culture, music, theater, and graphic and book arts."

(http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/collections/broadsides/bdstxt.html)

This broadside announces the defense of a doctoral dissertation contrasting the worldly and priestly virtues of St. Francis de Sales. It is dedicated to him, and at its top it is graced by a well executed copper engraving of him. The engraving (11 x 8.5 cm; 4.25" x 3.25") is signed in the plate by Francisco Cabrera, one of Guatemala's most accomplished artists/engravers. The text is center-justified within a triple ornamental border and is printed in roman, italic, and ornamental type.

Rare: Not traced via NUC Pre-1956, OCLC, or RLIN.

•  Clean, crisp copy with old fold