WORLDWIDE CATHOLICA
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Defending the Primacy of
the Cathedral of Toledo
[Campoverde, Juan de]. Primatus Hispaniarum vindicatus, sive Defensio primatus ecclesiae Toletanae adversus memoriale Hispalensis. Romae: Ex typo. Vatiacana, apud Joannem Mariam Salvioni, 1729. Folio extra (39.5 cm; 15.5"). [14] ff., 626 pp.
$950.00
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Writing here under the pseudonym of Nicacio Sevillano, Campoverde (1658–1737) was otherwise a Jesuit, chair holder of theology in the Universidad de Alcalá, and “Examinador Sinodal” of the archbishopric of Toledo. This folio extra volume offers his important defense of the rights and privileges of the cathedral in Toledo from an attack by the authorities of the cathedral in Seville. Handsomely printed at the Vatican Press in large roman and italic with all initials being large and engraved, it also has engraved head- and tailpieces, also large, that are signed “P. Giffart.” This is the second edition, with the first in Latin being very uncommon; the work in Spanish, as published in Madrid in 1726, was titled Defensa christiana, politica y verdadera de la primacia de las Españas que goza la Santa Iglesia de Toledo contra un manifiesto que ... ha publicado la Santa Iglesia de Sevilla: dividida en tres partes.
Following the half-title is a
stunning added engraved title-page by Pietro Marini after the drawing by Pietro Andrea Bucciar di Barberi. The printed title-page is handsomely presented in black and red with an engraved vignette by C. Gregori.
Provenance: In the 19th-century in the Theological Institute of Connecticut (i.e., Hartford Theological Seminary); deaccessioned ca. 1980; acquired by Pitts Theological, Emory University; deaccessioned and acquired by PRB&M in 2000; sold immediately to a private collector; reacquired by PRB&M in 2016.
Palau 41558; this title not in DeBacker-Sommervogel (in either language). Vellum over heavy pasteboards, vellum age- and dust-soiled; board edges rubbed with some small loss of vellum, joints (outside) starting to crack, edges mottled red. Small pressure- (not perforation-) stamps in margins of some leaves.
A very good copy of a handsome and noteworthy book. (36744)

A Renaissance Theories Book — With Reference to America
Castilla, Francisco de. Theorica de virtudes en coplas, y con co[n]mento. [colophon: Caragoça [Saragossa, Zaragoza]: Impresso ... por Agostin Millan impressor de libros, 1552]. 4to (20 cm, 8"). 2 parts in 1 vol. lxx, xxxiiii, [4] ff.
$9750.00
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Gathered here in its third edition, but
only the second to survive in known copies, are seven of Castilla's wide-ranging tracts covering topics that include theory of poetry, theory of empire and government, the nature of humanity, virtue, happiness, original sin, and friendship.
The work is printed in Gothic type. The title-page is executed in black and red, has a five-element woodcut border, and contains the arms of Charles V and a small woodcut shield with the Castilla family coat of arms. The verso of the title-page bears a four-element woodcut border (the elements totally distinct from those of the recto), surrounding the list of the tracts in the volume with the Castilla coat of arms repeated.
In addition to the black and red typography of the title-page, leaves ii verso (A2), vii (A7) and viii verso (A8) are also in red and black. The text is printed in double-column format within ruled borders, contains occasional, rather interesting, woodcut initials, and is supplemented with side- and shouldernotes. The “Pratica de las virtudes de los buenos reyes Despaña en coplas de arte mayor” has a sectional title-page that in its woodcut elements duplicates the main title-page, and has its own foliation and signature sequence. The work ends with two “tablas,” and the errata on the verso of the last leaf.
Of special note is a stanza on leaf 33 of the second part that refers to America: “Ganaron las islas que son de Canaría, Ganaron las Indías del mar occeano . . .”
Binding: 19th-century quarter brown sheep in ecclesiastical style with marbled paper sides; spine blind-embossed with elements of a church (rose window, arches, leaded glass window, etc.) and with gilt ruling and tooling. All edges marbled.
Binding by B. Miyar (with his ticket).
Provenance: 16th-century signature of Juan de la Torre in lower margin of main title-page.
Searches of NUC, WorldCat, and the Iberian Book Project locate only three copies of the 1519 edition in U.S. (Hispanic Society, Newberry, Huntington), no copies anywhere in the world of the 1546 (i.e., apparently a ghost), and only six U.S. copies of this 1552 (Hispanic Society, NYPL, Bancroft, Lilly, BPL, and UPenn).
On Castilla, see: Archivo biográfico de España, Portugal, e Iberoamérica, fiche 195, frames 158–59. Brunet, I, 1632; Graesse, II, 66 & VII, 161, note; Palau 47981; Salvá, 522; Heredia, II, 1887; Wilkinson, Iberian Books, 2921; Iberian Book Project IB 2921; Sánchez, Bibliografia aragonesa, II, 332. Not in Alden & Landis; not in Harrisse. Binding as above; spine ends rubbed. Text lightly to moderately age-browned, with scattered foxing; small chipping to fore-edges of some leaves, small piece torn from blank outer margin of title to second part, last leaf with a closed tear, repaired.
Overall a very nice copy of a scarce Spanish work of the Golden Age. (38121)

Guadalajara Achieves
Its Own Press
Catedral de Guadalajara (Mexico). Elogios funebres con que la santa iglesia catedral de Guadalaxara ha celebrado la buena memoria de su prelado el Illmô. y Rmô. Señor Mtrô. D. Fr. Antonio Alcalde. Se ponen al fin algunos monumentos de los que se han tenido presentes para formarlos. Guadalaxara: Impr. de Don Mariano Valdés Tellez Giron, 1793. Small 4to. [3] ff., xxviii pp., [1] f., 49, [1] pp., [1] f.
$5750.00
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This first production of the first press in Guadalajara, the fourth city in Mexico to have a press, commemorates the funeral obsequies of the Dominican bishop of the City, Antonio Alcalde. It begins with the Latin oration of José Appolinari de Vizcarra, Marqués de Pánuco, “Oratio in funere Illmi. D.D. Fr. Antonii de Alcalde Episcopi Guadalaxariani habita . . . quinto Idus Novembris ann. MDCCXCII. A Josepho Appolinari de Vizcarra, Marchione de Panuco. . . . “ (pp. i–xxviii and a leaf previous to first page of text). This is followed by Lic. D. Juan José Moreno's Spanish-language “Sermon predicado el dia 10 de noviembre de 1792. En las solemnes exequias que la Santa Iglesia Catedral de Guadalaxara celebró á su pastor el Illmô. y Rmô. Señor Mtrô. D. Fr. Antonio Alcalde . . . “ (pp. 1–26 and a leaf prior to first page of text). The remainder of the volume is composed of copies of documents illustrative of the generosity and goodness that characterized the bishop's life, including a long, detailed list of his gifts to various monasteries, convents, and schools. The volume ends with an embarrassingly long list of errata for the sermon and the oration.
Sometime before 1792, the authorities and well-placed private individuals in Guadalajara began soliciting among the printers of Mexico City for one of them to move with his/her press to their ever-growing city. At first there were no takers, but eventually Manuel Antonio Valdés, the editor of the Gazeta de México, accepted their offer and guarantees, and agreed to send his son, Mariano, to fill the position. The father ordered new type and equipment from Spain, and all of the necessary permissions for the establishing of the first press in Guadalajara were in place by February of 1792. Valdés Tellez Girón and his press, however, did not arrive until the beginning of the next year. As with all first presses, the work available was less than promised or envisioned, but Valdés persisted and probably did much more “job printing” than book or broadside work. His presswork is characterized by neatness and good page design.
The importance of this production is underscored by its having been reproduced in a limited edition facsimile of 50 copies in Guadalajara in 1982.
Medina, Guadalajara, 1; Palau 79207 (incorrect collation); Sabin 22362 & 29025; Beristain, I, 303. Evidence of original wrappers along inner margin of title-page, spine, and
blank rear leaf: some discoloration from glue. Some dust-soiling. No worming or tears. A very good copy, now laid (not glued) into a neat folder of marbled paper. (34568)

Portuguese Embroidered Binding — A Lisbon Luxury Diario, 1816
Catholic Church. Diario ecclesiastico para o Reino de Portugal, principalmente para a cidade de Lisboa, para o anno de 1816. Lisboa: Na Impressam Regia, [1815]. 16mo (10.2 cm, 4"). 176, [2 (blank)] pp.; 1 col. fold. map.
$2650.00
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A jewel of an almanac: the 1816 edition of a pocket-sized gathering of ecclesiastical and civil information, in a treasurable
goldwork embroidered binding. The volume opens with a
hand-colored, folding map of Portugal; it includes, along with the calendar of feast days, a directory of European royalty and a table of sunrise and sunset times.
Binding: Contemporary dove-colored silk, front cover with spangles and goldwork embroidery (couched and broad plate) surrounding the embroidered coat of arms of the Kingdom of Portugal, back cover with similar goldwork surrounding
a needle-worked pastoral scene of a shepherd with two of his flock, with a tree and flying birds in the background, spine with stylized leaf design in gold and silver stitching; all edges gilt and gauffered, original red-dotted silk bookmark present and attached. The volume is housed in the
original and elegantly gilt-tooled dark red morocco–covered case, this fitted with a green and red patterned paper–lined interior.
Provenance: Front free endpaper with attractive early inked inscription of J.A. Calderhead, calligraphed with flourishes on a blue-colored banner.
Binding as above, silk and some metalwork just slightly darkened with embroidery still virtually perfect; case with lightest shelfwear and unobtrusive small cracks to leather, moderate rubbing to interior paper. Small closed split to one fold of map, and a few lower corners bumped; a handful of outer edges trimmed closely, in some cases just touching outermost letters with no loss of text.
Truly lovely. (38157)

Small Format for
Use in the Field
Catholic Church. Catechisms.
Kalispel. (Canestrelli, trans.). Catechism of the Christian doctrine prepared and enjoined by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. [Woodstock, MD]: Woodstock College, 1891. Square 16mo (14 cm; 5.5"). 102 pp.
$225.00
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The second catechism in Kalispel,
following the much shorter, basic one of 17 pages issued by the mission press at St. Ignatius Print in 1880. This one received the approval of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore and was translated into Kalispel, a Salishan language, by the Jesuit missionary Felipe Canestrelli.
Kalispel is the language of the Flathead Indians of Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, Alberta, and portions of British Columbia.
Pilling, Salishan, 29; Newberry Library, Ayer Indians, Kalispel 2. Publisher's pale green wrappers, a little soiled; front one with a small chip to fore-edge and another across one corner, paper of spine with truly minute loss (only) at tips.
A nice clean copy. (41446)

UNCUT BIFOLIUM . . .
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. [drop-title] Die XXVII. augusti. In festo Sancti Josephi Calasanctii a Matre Dei. Scolarum piarum fundatoris, duplex. [Mexico City: 1790–1800]. Folio. [1] f.
$185.00
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Printed here is the text of the changes to be introduced into the mass specified in the title. Offered here is a bifolium containing two copies of the decree, meant to be separated but never cut. Uncut bifolia are extremely rare.
This is handsomely printed!
Not in Medina, Mexico; not in González de Cossío, Cien or 510. Folded once and never bound. Lightly soiled at edges, with just a small spot or two of foxing; crisp. (41271)

UNCUT BIFOLIUM
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. [drop-title] Dominica tertia julii. In solemnitate SS. Redemptoris. [Mexico City: 1790–1800]. Double folio. [2 (conjugate)] ff.
$185.00
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Printed here is the text of the changes to be introduced into the mass specified in the title.
Our offering is a bifolium containing two copies of the decree, meant to be separated but never cut.
Uncut bifolia are extremely rare.
Not in Medina, Mexico; not in González de Cossío, Cien; not in González de Cossío, 510. Folded once and never bound. Crisp. (41295)

Updating the Catholic Marriage Ceremony
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. Broadside, begins: Benedictio nuptiarum. [Mexico: No publisher/printer, ca. 1770]. Folio (31.5 cm, 12.25"). [1] p.
$200.00
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Printed in double-column format in roman and italic type, this single-page production shows a mid-18th-century change to the marriage service and is
essentially a cancel to be inserted into the liturgy book. The place and date of its publication is based on typography and the watermark.
This scarce example of job printing for the Church is not located in the standard bibliographies and NUC and WorldCat locate
only one copy worldwide, at the Bridwell Library.
Not in Medina, Mexico, nor González de Cossío, Cien, González de Cossío, 510. Age-toned, edges variously with tattering; some dust-soiling, a
light waterstain, and later creasing. (41010)

Rare, Early Puebla Imprint — Unknown to Medina
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. Forma, qve se debe gvardar en el pararse, sentarse, hincar las rodillas, y inclinarse; asi en las missas solemnes, feriales, y rezadas: como tambien en las horas canonicas, en el coro; cforme al rito del ceremonial nuevo romano, mandado imprimir, con sus reglas por...Don Iuan de Palafox, y Mendoza. Puebla de los Angeles: Por el Bachiller Iuan Blanco Alcaçar, 1649. Small 4to. [6] ff. (last a blank).
$7500.00
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Puebla was the second city in New Spain to obtain a printing press, issuing its first book in 1642, not 1640 as Medina claimed. The man responsible for the press's arrival was the same eminent figure mentioned on the title-page of this extremely rare volume: Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. Bishop, later viceroy, Palafox, was one of the most interesting and controversial figures to reside in Mexico during the 17th century. Born in Fitero, Navarre, Spain, in 1600, the illegitimate but recognized son of Jaime Palafox, the Marqués of Ariza, he rose in the service of the Church in Spain through his native talent and his father's connections. In 1640, the king appointed him the bishop of Puebla, Mexico, with special powers to serve concurrently as a visitador, or special investigator, specifically charging him with reforming the various religious orders (Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, etc.) who seemed to defy and stymie the king's will at every turn, and who had grown to be more secular in behavior than was seemly, legal, customary, or acceptable.
The bishop's efforts as visitador met with dogged resistance, even from the viceroy, whom Palafox suspected of being a sympathizer with the Portuguese separatists (and whom he was to succeed).
The various orders initiated protracted legal opposition to everything Palafox attempted.
Notwithstanding the imposing odds against him, Palafox did have his share of unqualified accomplishments during his years in Mexico: He composed and saw into print the codification of the constitution of the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, established a school for girls, founded the famous Palafoxiana Library in Puebla with a donation of 6,000 volumes, and introduced printing in Puebla, Mexico's second largest city during the colonial period.
The printer of this rarity was Bachiller Juan Blanco de Alcaçar (or Alcazar), almost certainly the first printer to set up a press in Puebla de los Angeles. Like many of Mexico's printers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Juan de Alcazar (as he generally identified himself in documents) was well educated: He held a bachelor's degree from the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico. He began his life as a printer in Mexico City in 1617 and there printed several major books, including Fray Martín de León's Manual [y] breve forma de administrar los santos sacramentos a los yndios (1617) and Diego Cisneros's Sitio, naturaleza y propriedades de la ciudad de México (1618). His name disappears from imprint lines of Mexican title-pages and colophons in 1637 to reappear on title-pages printed in Puebla at least as early as 1643; some attribute the “anonymously” printed pieces of 1642 to his press work and more than a few think he printed the even earlier, suppositious Arco triunfal of Mateo Salcedo. From the notarial archives of Puebla we know that he had moved his press to that city by December 1641, and that in January 1642, he had begun to hire apprentices (Pérez Salazar, Los impresores de Puebla en la época colonial [1987 edition], pp. 9–12). The bachiller's “in” (“enchufe” in Spanish) with Bishop Palafox was a strong one: His wife was the sister of Don Luis de Monzón, the Treasurer of the Puebla cathedral (Pérez Salazar, p. 16).
The work at hand, which Bishop Palafox ordered to be printed, explains changes in the newly adopted Ceremonial that affect when congregants sit, kneel, and genuflect. It was
an important work, affecting every communicant at every mass attended.
Searches of NUC Pre-1956, WorldCat, COPAC, CCPBE, BRUIN, and the OPACs of the national library of Spain and Mexico, located only three copies in U.S. libaries and two in Mexican institutions.
Apparently all institutional copies lack the final blank, present in this exemplar and bearing
contemporary manuscript poetry on both sides.
Not in Medina, Puebla; not in Palau; Gavito, Adiciones a La imprenta en la Puebla, 2. Nicolas Antonio,II, 116; Pinelo-Barcia, II, 859; Beristáin de Souza, II, 5. On Blanco de Alcazar, see: Francisco Pérez Salazar, Los impresores de Puebla en la época colonial. Mexican quarter calf binding of the second half of the present century. Small wormhole in upper inner margin, well removed from text. Manuscript additions as above on final blank; on one side, at end of verse, inked skull-and-crossbones devices.
An exceptional copy of a rare book. (37100)

The Year in
Four Vols. & Beautiful Bindings
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. Breviaries. Breviarium romanum ex decreto sacrosancti Concilii tridentini restitutum S. Pii V. pontificis maximi iussu editum, Clementis VIII. ac Urbani VIII. auctoritate recognitum, cum officiis sanctorum novissimis usque ad SS. D.N. Pium VI, pro recitantium commoditate diligenter dispositis. [Romae]: A. Galler , 1781. 8vo (18 cm, 7.1"). 4 vols. I: [20], 632, cclxxxviii, 19, [1] pp.; illus. II: [18], 646, ccliv, 21, [1] pp.; 1 plt. III: [54], 566, cclxxvi, 26 pp.; 1 plt. IV: [20], 608, cclxx, 15, [1] pp.; illus.
$2750.00
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Beautifully printed and handsomely bound set of the Roman Breviary. The text is printed in double-column format, in black and red, with a vignette on each title-page and an engraving
in each volume.
Binding: Contemporary's black goat sides with simple roll gilt border and gilt corner devices, spines gilt extra. The top panel of each volume indicates contents with abbreviation: P. V. (“Pars Vernalis”), P. AE. (“Pars Aestivalis”), etc. Block-printed decorated endpapers; all edges gilt. Silk place markers.
Not in Weale & Bohatta. Bindings as above, edges and extremities rubbed, spine leather with tiny cracks, one spine head chipped, one joint starting. Ex-library with bookplates, rubber-stamp on lower edges of pages of the closed volumes. One volume with text block separating from spine and sewing loosening; this with the most leather rubbed away and the darkest instances of the usually-light waterstaining and spots of foxing seen occasionally throughout. Endpapers bear early inked ownership inscriptions and annotations.
An elegant quartet. (12406)

Franciscan Prayers During Lent
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. Commemorationes, seu suffragia sanctorum Ordinis Minorum S.P.N. Francisci, quae dicuntur in fine vesperarum & laudum, ab octava Epiphaniae usque ad Dominicam Passionis exlusivè; & ab octava Pentecostes usque ad Adventum exclusivè in Dominicis. Mexici: Ex Typographia Matritensi, [ca. 1770]. 12mo. [12] ff.
$195.00
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Prayers and responses for the masses specified in the title.WorldCat locates only four copies in the U.S., but we know of one other.
Medina, Mexico, 8973. Sewn as issued with original plain wrappers and with later green marbled wrappers. One pin hole from front to rear occasionally affecting one letter. (27224)

Christmas Prayers — Gorgeous Binding
Catholic Church. Offices. Officium in festo nativitatis Domini, et festorum infra octavam occurrentium, usque ad primas vesperas Epiphaniae Domini: juxta Missale & Breviarium romanarum s. Pii V. Pontif. Max. jussu editum, Clementis VIII. primùm, ac denuò Urbani VIII. auctoritate recognitum. Antverpiae: Ex architypographia Plantiniana, 1743. 12mo (16.5 cm; 6.5"). 555 pp.
$1250.00
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This richly bound breviary offers dedicated prayers for Christmas as well as the feasts of Saint Stephen, Saint John the Apostle, and Saint Thomas, among others; the title-page bears
a lovely small engraving of the holy family with baby Jesus. The text is handsomely printed in both red and black throughout with beautifully illustrated initials and emblematic tailpieces, several of the latter being
entirely printed in red.
Binding: 18th-century red morocco elaborately gilt-tooled, spine with floral and vine-stamped compartments and rules; covers framed surrounding an oval arabesque central design using a multiplicity of rules, rolls, and individual tools, one roll being of thistles and each arabesque corner stamping being surmounted by a bird. The endpapers are of floral “wallpaper” style in brown, bisque, and cream; all edges are gilt and gauffered in a floral pattern of their own. The volume is closed with two heavy, working brass clasps.
Provenance: Contemporary ownership signature of Fr. Cristobal de Parayso on verso of title-page.
Searches of OCLC, the NUC, and COPAC reveal no copies of this edition in U.S. libraries.
Bound as above, with light rubbing and some darkened leather, dust-soiling (or evidence of old polish) around clasps, and clasp attachments having a little poked through endpapers with small spots of associated discoloration but no apparent continuing danger. Moderate age-toning with a few leaves crinkled along edges from gauffering or with a small spot, one leaf with short internal tear; ownership signature as noted above and date lightly pencilled on back fly-leaf.
A lovely, ornately embellished, and lovable book. (36927)

Handsome
Decretals
Catholic Church. Pope, 12941303 (Bonifacius VIII). Liber sextvs decretalivm d. Bonifacii papae VIII. Clementis papae V. constitvtiones. Extravagantes tùm viginti d. Ioannis papae XXII. tùm communes. Haec omnia cvm svis glossis svae integritati restitvta, et ad exemplar romanvm diligenter recognita. Venetiis: Sub signo Aquilae renovantis, 1604. Folio (41.6 cm, 16.375"). *4AZ8AaFf8Gg6(-Gg6, blank) 2A2M8 3A3M8 2Nn4(-2Nn4, blank)*8**4; [4] ff., 948, 384, 396 numb. col., [12] ff., lacking a blank.
$850.00
This is a collection of the decretals of Boniface VIII, born Benedict Gaetani (ca. 12351303, pope from 1294). Boniface was a distinguished canonist and defender of the rights of the papacy. He did much to organize canon law, compiling the decrees of his predecessors into five books, to which he added his own Liber Sextus ("sixth book"). To Boniface's own decretals were later appended the Constitutiones of Boniface's immediate successor, Clement V (reigned 130514), the Extravagantes of John XXII (reigned 13161334), and finally, in 15001503, the Extravagantes Communes. The works in this volume form the third of three volumestogether with the Decretum of Gratianus and the Decretales of Gregory IXprinted by the Socios Aquilae Renovantis in 1604 as part of a complete set of the Corpus Iuris Canonici or code of canon law.
In this edition the legal text is surrounded by commentary, to which supplementary side notes have been added. It is printed with an ornate, very large woodcut printer's device on the title-page, and historiated woodcut initials.
On Boniface, see: New Catholic Encyclopedia, II, 67173. Half vellum over green paper with a brown leatherette title label. Title-page has a tear from the base of the page into the imprint information, repaired on the verso with paper. Inked marginalia in one place, fol. *2r. Occasional spots of foxing and staining, most noticeably on the title-page and first few leaves. (2796)

Reforming the Curia & Proposing a Peace Plan
Catholic Church. Pope (151321, Leo X). Bulla continens materiam pragmatice, reformationis Curie Roman[e] officialium, designationem legatoru[m] pro uniuersali pace inter Christianos principes co[m]pone[n]da, ac indictionis octaue sessionis, publice lecta die .XVII. Iunii .M.d.xiii. in septima session[e] sacri Lateran[ensis] Co[n]cilii, per R.p.d. Ponpeu[m] de Colu[m]na Ep[iscopu]m Reatinu[m], & per patres Concilii approbata. [Rome: Marcellus Silber, 1513]. Small 4to (21.5 cm, 8.25"). [4] ff.
$750.00
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“The Fifth Lateran Council was summoned by Pope Julius II in response to the 'quasi-council' assembled at Pisa by several schismatic cardinals, and officially supported by King Louis XII of France. Twice postponed, the Council finally held its first session at Rome in the Lateran residence on May 10, 1512. Of the twelve sessions, the first five were held during the pontificate of Julius II, and dealt primarily with the condemnation and rejection of the quasi-council of Pisa, and with the revoking and annulment of the French 'Pragmatic Sanction' which would have restricted papal authority over French bishops. The remaining seven sessions under Leo X focused on achieving peace between Christian rulers, church reform, and defense of the faith through elimination of heresy. Cf. N.H. Minnich, The Fifth Lateran Council (1512-17)” (UCLA OPAC).
Pope Leo X issued the present bull on 17 June 1513. It details the work of the seventh session of the Fifth Lateran Council and announces the eighth session. It includes memoranda on the reform of the church and Curia, and proposes
a plan for the establishment of universal peace.
The title-page has
a large woodcut, reverse-printed, of the papal coat of arms. The text is printed in single-column format in roman type. The bull is generally known by the title “Meditatio cordis nostri.” The imprint information is from Isaac.
Searches of NUC and WorldCat locate only four U.S. (DFo, PU, CLU, NNC) libraries reporting ownership.
Isaac 12231; Adams R721; EDIT16 CNCE 13933 & CNCE 79208. Folded as issued; original stitching perished. Light foxing. Nice. (39660)

Rules for the Choir
Catholic Church. Province of Mexico City (Mexico). Concilio Provincial (3rd, 1585). Statuta Ecclesiae Mexicanae necnon Ordo in choro servandus curante Vallisoletanae Ecclesiae capitulo sumptus suppeditante. Mexici: Apud Marianum Zunnigam, et Ontiverium, 1797. Folio (27.5 cm; 11"). [1], 140 pp., [2] ff.
$950.00
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Fray Antonio de San Miguel, the bishop of Michoacan, reprints the statutes promulgated by the Third Mexican Provincial Council (1585) and the “Ordo servandus in choro” of Archbishop Alonso de Montúfar (fl. 1512–70). The archbishop originally established these 42 rules on proper organization and deportment for the choir of the Cathedral of Mexico City. The bishop of Michoacan undoubtedly wished to bring some of this order to his own bishopric and cathedral.
Uncommon. OCLC and NUC Pre-1956 locate only four copies in the U.S.
Medina, Mexico, 8711. Contemporary vellum over paste boards of printer's waste, vellum cockled and that of the front cover lightly rodent-gnawed at board edges. Worming in text, some of which is meander type, costing letters. Not a great copy, but given the scarcity, an acceptable one. (24103)

Working Documents Produced in
Workmanlike Fashion
Catholic Church. Province of Rome. Concilium (1725). Concilium Romanum in sacrosancta Basilica Lateranensi celebratum anno universalis jubilaei MDCCXXV. Romae: Typis Bernabò, sumptibus Francisci Giannini bibliopolae, 1725. 8vo (19 cm; 7.5"). [18] ff., 464 pp., [12 (last a blank)] ff.
$300.00
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During the first year of Benedict XIII's pontificate (1725), as the bishop of Rome he hosted a concilium for the province of Rome. The assembled prelates met in the Lateran Basilica to review and revise the rules and laws regulating the clergy in and of the province, producing revisions that were numerous and important. These were promulgated promptly and published in several editions in 1725. This is one of three editions we have identified as being printed in that year, all from the press of the same printer. No priority has yet been established for their order of appearance.
Contemporary vellum over light pasteboards with slightly raised bands; the vellum used here was recovered from earlier use in a binding or some document. Some foxing and other staining/soiling in text; in all, a solid, good to good-plus copy. (36632)



“The
Grounds of the Old Religion”
Challoner,
Richard. The grounds of the old religion:
or, some general arguments in favour of the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman, communion...by
a convert. Philadelphia: Augustine Fagan, 1814. 8vo. 204 pp.
$325.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First American edition:
The true first was printed in London, 1742, under the pseudonym “Augusta.”
The author was indeed a convert (from Presbyterianism), and an important one:
As vicar apostolic of the London district, he provided a most determined voice
for English Catholics during the 18th century. Anti-Catholic laws forced his
efforts to remain covert, but he endured to found the “Benevolent Society
for the Relief of the Aged and Infirm Poor” and three schools; a preacher
and minister especially to the poor, he converted many in the London slums.
Throughout his life Challoner “labored to save Catholicism in England from extinction;
his writings and preachings served to strengthen the faith of the Catholic minority . . .” (New
Catholic Encyclopedia, 438). His readable, revised edition of the Douay–Rheims Bible
(1749–52) served as the English Catholic standard until quite recently.
Provenance: Released
as a duplicate from the greatest collection of American Catholica in the world,
the Georgetown University Library, with a few of the requisite and expected
stamps.
Parsons 461; Shaw & Shoemaker 31112. On Challoner, see: New
Catholic Encyclopedia, III, 437–438. Contemporary treed sheep, spine with
chipped, gilt-stamped red leather title-label; binding abraded, covers a bit sprung, spine with
paper shelving label and some cracking of leather. Title-page and one other stamped as
described above; pages age-toned. A “decent” copy.
(30248)
Wisdom, Censored Post-PURCHASE?!
Charron, Pierre. De la sagesse. Paris: Jean-François Bastien, 1783. 8vo (20 cm, 7.9"). Frontis., xviii, 768 pp.; 1 plt. (damaged/censored).
$250.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Later printing of Charron’s final work, a philosophical treatise which was first published in 1601 and which was strongly connected to Montaigne’s essays. Although the author was a Catholic priest widely acclaimed for skillful preaching, he and La Sagesse came under bitter attack by the clergy when the work first appeared, on the grounds of its promoting skepticism and free thinking.
This particular copy seems to have incurred someone’s personal wrath, as the plate illustrating the allegory of Wisdom has had its central (nude) female figure excised. The much more staid frontispiece portrait of the author, done by Pruneau, is undamaged.
Second thoughts here raise the question, though maybe this wasn't censorship but rather an expression of erotic interest or, um, art appreciation?? Maybe someone wanted
a nice little nude to keep in his pocketbook??????
Contemporary mottled calf framed in triple gilt fillets, spine gilt extra, all page edges marbled; binding with expectable acid-pitting and minor cracking of the leather over the spine and joints. One (and only one) signature foxed, leaves otherwise clean. A handsome book, defaced in a way that is depressing but also interesting. (11896)

Peter Martyr Meets
St. Clement of Alexandria
Clement, of Alexandria, Saint. Clementis Alexandrini, viri longe doctissimi, qui Panteni quidem martyris fuit discipulus, praeceptor verò Origenis, omnia, quae quidem extant opera, à paucis iam annis inventa, [et] nunc denuò accuratiùs excusa Gentiano Herueto Aureliano interprete ... [with another, as below]. Basileae: Per Thomam Guarinum, 1566. Folio (33.5 cm; 13.125"). 364 pp., [8] ff. [also bound in] Vermigli, Pietro Martire. In selectissimam D. Pauli priorem ad Corinthios Epistolam. Tiguri: apud C. Froschouerum, 1567. Folio (33.5 cm; 13.125"). [6], 242, [17] ff. (lacks final blank).
$2800.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Wonderful large folio volume containing the Works (in Latin translation) of St. Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150 – ca. 215), here in the second edition as edited by Gentian Hervet (1499–1584); the first was in 1556 from Isengrin's press. In this edition, Isengrin's device appears on the title-page and the verso of the final leaf. As with the first edition, this has scholia at the end, notes (including sidenotes), and an index. The contents are Liber adhortatorius adversus gentes, qui Protrepticus inscribitur; Paeagogi libri tres; and Stromaton sive Commentariorum, de varia multipliciq[ue] literatura, ad instituendum Christianum philosophum, libri octo.
The second work is Peter Martyr's commentaries on Corinthians, here in the second edition. It has a full-page woodcut
portrait of him on the recto of leaf aa6. The printer's woodcut device is on the title-page and there are numerous woodcut initials. The sidenotes are printed in italic while the text proper is in roman.
Peter Martyr (8 September 1499 – 12 November 1562), was an Italian theologian who began his religious life as an Augustinian friar, converted to the Protestant cause, was closely associated on the continent with Ochino, Bucer, and some prominent Lutherans, and, while in England where he held the Regius Chair of Divinity at Oxford, was an intimate of Thomas Cranmer and Bishop Jewel.
Both works are uncommon in these editions in the U.S.: We locate three institutions reporting ownership of the first title and three totally different institutions owning the Vermigli.
Binding: Contemporary alum-tawed pig over wooden boards with bevelled edges and metal and leather clasps; one clasp perished. Leather tooled elaborately in blind using a variety of rolls and fillets, including one roll incorporating the date 1546, a medallion of David and his harp, and another medallion depicting John the Baptist with the words below the image, “Ecce Agnus Dei.”
Clement: VD16 C4070; Index Aurel. 104.903; Adams C2106. Vermigli: VD16 B5054; Adams M788. Bound as above. Ex-library with bookplate on front pastedown, small blind pressure- (not perf-.) stamp on title-page and remnant of charge pocket at rear; six-digit number stamped in lower margin of one leaf. Early inked ownership indicia on title-page and old private ownership stamp on front free endpaper; a little old marginalia and underlining. A very little foxing and the odd spot only.
Excellent copies of both works in a handsome contemporary binding. (24827)

Printed with Savile's
Greek “Silver Type”
Clement I, Pope. [three lines in Greek, transliterated as] Klēmentos pros Korinthious epistolē protē. [then in Latin] Clementis ad Corinthios epistola prior. Oxonii: Iohannes Lichfield, 1633. 4to (21.3 cm, 8.4’’). [24], 76, [48], [2] pp.
$950.00
Click the images for enlargements.
The handsome editio princeps of Pope Clement's Epistle to the Church at Corinth, here in a well-margined large paper copy. Pope Clement I (d. 99 A.D.) was consecrated by St. Peter as the second or third bishop of Rome, and this is his only extant work, edited, in this version, by Patricius Iunius [Patrick Young] from
an ancient manuscript in the Bibliotheca Regia of Charles I. Young (1584–1652), a Scottish scholar and exegete who served for years as librarian to Prince Henry, James I, and Charles I, was in charge of cataloguing manuscripts preserved at Salisbury Cathedral and other English churches, and he edited numerous Greek works and manuscripts.
The Epistle criticized the deposition of presbyters of the Corinthian church, advocating instead that the clergy’s authority as rulers of the church rested on their apostolic appointment. Its Greek text appears here with facing Latin translation, in double columns; preceded by the surviving Greek and Latin testimonies on Clement I, it is followed by Young’s annotations and a Greek fragment of Clement’s second epistle (now considered spurious).
This volume is printed in Sir Henry Savile’s superb Greek “silver types.” “The legend of the silver types has been a favourite one in the romance of typography. . . . with the notion that . . . [the] beautiful and luxurious typography [of the great printers] was the result of rare and costly material; and, ignoring the fact that silver type would not endure the press. . . . Sir Henry Savile’s Greek types, says Bagford, 'on account of their beauty [our emphasis] were called the Silver types'” (Reed, History, 474 n.181). The elegant Greek and Latin title-page is printed in red and back in various type sizes using roman and italic fonts. The Greek text is also printed in red and black, with several excellent woodcut initials and head- and tailpieces.
Provenance: Ca.1900 armorial bookplate of Harryson Caird, his autograph at foot of title-page. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
STC 5398; ESTC S108071 (with disjunct privilege leaf); Madan, I, p.166; Brunet, II, 94; T.B. Reed, A History of the Old English Letter Foundries, (1887). Contemporary English sheep, spine with raised bands and gilt-lettered morocco label; later paper on the boards, mottled and toned to mimic antique leather. Head of spine rubbed with loss, boards a little scuffed, and corners bumped, with first (blank) leaf detached; text variably age-toned, with some dust-soiling to margins and occasional slight spotting or foxing. (41312)

Cochlaeus on the Schmalkald Articles
Cochlaeus, Johannes. Ein[n] nötig und Christlich Bedencken, auff des Luthers Artickeln, die man Gemeynem Concilio fürtragen sol. Gedruckt zu Leipzig: Durch Nicolaum Wolrab, 1538. Small 4to (20.8 cm, 8.125"). [96] pp.
$1750.00
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First edition of Cochlaeus' detailed response to Luther's Schmalkald Articles, a summary of Lutheran doctrine written at the request of Luther's patron, Elector John Frederick of Saxony, for presentation at the Schmalkaldic League's meeting in 1537. The league was organized in 1531 as a union of the Lutheran territories and cities to provide a united military and political front against the Roman Catholic politicians and armies led by Emperor Charles V.
Luther was unable to attend the 1537 meeting; consequently, the League ended up being largely influenced by Melanchthon and decided not to adopt the Articles chiefly because of their stand on the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. The Articles did, however, circulate widely and were incorporated in the 1580 Book of Concord.
Searches of NUC and WorldCat locate
only one U.S. library reporting ownership UPenn).
Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
VD16 C4347; Index Aurel. 142.161; Claus 187, 28; Spahn 132. Removed from a sammelband. Very good condition. (38083)

Privileges
& Exemptions
Cofradía
de Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Mexico). Sumario de las
indulgencias, gracias y concesiones que los sumos pontifices han dispensado
a la Cofradia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen. Mexico: Impr. de la Calle
de Santo Domingo y esquina Tacuba, 1802. Samll 8vo (14.5 cm; 5.75"). [26] ff.
$475.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
Sixth edition (preceded by those of 1789, 1792, 1793, 1798, and 1801) of the
indulgences, privileges, and grants bestowed by the pontiffs on members of the Confraternity of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Provenance: A copy of this
work was given to each member upon admission and the last page of this copy
indicates that it belonged to Joaquín Gorospe who was admitted to membership
on 20 April 1803.
Uncommon:
No U.S. library reports owning this edition.
Medina,
Mexico, 9488. Lacking the wrappers. Soiling to title-page and verso of last
leaf. A few age spots. (26871)

Reestablishing
the Peace of J.-C.
Concile
National de France. Décret
de pacification proclamé par le Concile national de France, dans l'Église
métropolitaine de Notre-Dame de Paris, le dimanche 24 septembre 1797,
(3 Vendémiaire, an VI de la Rép. Fr.). Paris: L'Imprimerie-Librairie
Chrétienne, 1797. 8vo (21.1 cm, 8.4"). 40 pp. (17–24 lacking).
$100.00
Click
the image for an enlargement.
First
edition:
Never bound, uncut copy of this list of talking points regarding
the Concile's plan to rebuild the Église de France.
Martin & Walter 5106. Sewn, never bound; title-page
with affixed paper shelving label in lower inner corner, not touching text,
and with pencilled monogram in upper outer corner. Page edges untrimmed.
Lacking center signature (pp. 17–24: end of article IV, beginning
of article V). Pages gently age-toned, otherwise very crisp and clean. (30698)

JAPAN: “The Subject Is Great, the Actions Sublime,
the ADVENTURES
Surprising & Full of Wonders”
Crasset, Jean. The history of the church of Japan. Written originally in French by Monsieur L’Abbe de T. And now translated into English. By N. N. Volume I. London: [publisher not identified], 1705. 4to (21.6 cm; 8.5"). [28], 544, [8] pp.
$500.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Vol. I only of the English translation of Crasset's Histoire de l'eglise de Japon, originally published in 1689; the second volume of the translation was not published for several more years, appearing in 1707. Crasset, a Jesuit preacher, made much use of Father Solier's work on the subject, Histoire ecclésiastique des isles et royaumes du Japon, expanding its chronology with his own account of the years from 1624 to 1658. Also included is
a section describing different aspects of secular Japanese life, including diet, housing, and relationships, among other topics.
Provenance: “Ad Cubiculum Sacerdotis Soc. Jesu Hooton” inscribed on title-page in ink; later in the library of the Pacific School of Religion (properly released).
ESTC T94112; later edition in Cordier, Bibliotheca japonica, col. 425–26; DeBacker-Sommervogel, II, 1641. Contemporary Cambridge-style calf, rebacked some time ago with raised bands double-ruled in gilt, two gilt-lettered leather spine labels, and new endpapers; rubbed, especially spine, with a few abrasions. Ex-library as above: evidence of former call number label on spine, bookplate on front pastedown, rubber-stamp on endpaper and title-page, accession pencilling on title-page verso, circulation materials at back. Light pencilling on endpapers, one lower outside corner a tremoin, one leaf repaired, two with small holes and loss of a letter or two, one with a medium tear lightly touching text; light to moderate spotting and age-toning. Not pristine and priced accordingly — yet, a good book. (36729)

Influential “Sacred Comedy” — Christian/Classical Theater
Crocus, Cornelius. Comoedia sacra cui titulus Joseph. Parisiis: Apud Christianum Wechelum, 1541. 8vo (14.8 cm, 5.82’’). 62 pp.
$975.00
Click the images for enlargements.
This successful Christian play on the life of Joseph the Patriarch followed in the wake of Gnaphaeus’s ground-breaking comoedia sacra, Acolastus. Relying on scant traces of early Christian drama, these novel plays brought biblical stories onto the secular stage through the dramatic and linguistic tradition of Terentian comedy, inventing
a Christian theater of a humanist nature blending moralism and linguistic refinement — one that proved a powerful didactic instrument for Christians and also for Latin-learning schoolchildren in post-Reformation Europe. (Cornelius Crocus (ca.1500–50), a Jesuit theologian and the dramatist here, was also a teacher at the Latin school in Amsterdam.)
First published in 1536 and here in its sixth edition, Joseph is printed in compact Italic with Wechel's woodcut printer’s device on both the title-page and the verso of the last leaf, and with two historiated woodcut initials in the text.
Provenance: On the title-page, 16th-century ownership inscription of François Couetoux and 17th-century pen trials (dated 1617) with Latin motto; indistinct 17th-century inscription on verso of last leaf.
WorldCat locates
one U.S. library (Harvard) reporting ownership of this edition.
Pettegree & Walsby, French Books, 63672. Not in Index Aurel.; not in DeBacker-Sommervogel. Disbound, outer edge close trimmed occasionally just touching shouldernotes, short closed tear or cut to lower edge to title-page not approaching print; text with limited light (often faint) waterstains to edges and light general soiling.
A good, representative survivor of an important hybrid tradition. (40845)

A 3rd-Century
MARTYR's Works — Edited by Erasmus
Cyprian, Thascius Caecilius, Bishop of Carthage, Saint. D. Caecilii Cypriani, episcopi carthaginensis & martyris, opera: per Des. Erasmum roterodamum saepius a mendis summa vigilantia repurgata, & doctissimis annotationibus ad finem adiectis, illustrata. Basel: Per Ioannem Hervagium, et Bernardum Brand, [March] 1558. Folio (29.4 cm, 11.6"). [8] ff., 368, [8] pp.
$900.00
Click the images for enlargements.
St. Cyprian was Bishop of Carthage between 249 and 258, when he was martyred upon return from exile in Curubis for his part in the baptismal controversy (255–57). His writings “give
a vivid picture of Christian life in Carthage, especially during the persecutions, and throw light on the organization of the Church not only in Africa from Mauretania to Tripolitania, but also in Spain, Gaul, and Rome itself. At the same time they reveal the character and activities of Cyprian, a bishop often in peril of his life but totally dedicated to his flock, and while a leader of men, beloved and respected by Christian and pagan
alike, yet the object of slander and opposition from a handful of his clergy” (NCE).
The text is in Latin, printed in roman and italic, enlivened by handsome woodcut initials of various design and size; the printer's large device of a three-headed Hermes holding a caduceus appears on both the title-page and final verso. Printer Hervagius (Johann Herwagen, 1497– ca. 1558) moved to Basel from Strasbourg in 1528 to marry the widow of Johann Froben and take part in Froben's famous printing firm there; in 1531, he established his own press at the Nadelberg, Froben's house and the former residence of Erasmus. Some of the first products of
Herwagen's press were works by Erasmus, who also edited the present text for the first edition by Froben in 1520.
Provenance: Contemporary ink monogram JCP expanded to “Joh: Chr: Pychey”(?) on title-page.
VD16 C-6516; Index Aurel. 149.099; Adams C3160; Vander Haeghen, II, 24; BM STC 234; NCE, IV, 564–66 (Cyprian). On Herwagen, see: Contemporaries of Erasmus. Recent full black morocco ruled in blind, old style; raised bands accented with blind ruling, title gilt on red morocco spine label and date gilt collector-style at spine base. Title-page dust-soiled and expertly repaired in upper outer corner away from print. Glue stains on title-page verso from former bookplate; occasional very minor foxing, and light dampstaining in bottom margin of some leaves. A few small inkstains from same pen as sparse contemporary marginalia and underlining.
A handsome, handsome volume. (31540)
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