Folio. 1 ff., (title, numbered 2), 3-202 of (though lacking 17), 6 ff., 1 ff. with official dry stamp. Contemporary limp vellum, spine lettered in ink, ties as fragments, heavily worn,pieces of vellum worn out, somewhat rusty. As often with these collections, collected over the course of decades, conditions varies from drawing to drawing, some present edge wear or fraying, some with old restorations, title page frayed on the lower right corner just touching the frame but away from text, but overall in very good condition.

As expected, the individual professions display a different levels of artistic accomplishment though, on the whole, some have only borders decorated with floral patterns in blank ink, and a majority of them are decorated in colour, and framed with floral or heraldic motifs illustrating portraits of saints or biblical scenes.

‘Occasionally elaborate works of art but always highly valued and carefully protected, these books recorded friars’ [or nuns’] basic information, including their place of birth, parents’ names, and date of profession’ (Karen Melvin, Building Colonial Cities of God: Mendicant Orders and urban culture in New Spain, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012, p. 48).

The Profession of Faith, the personal and public statement given by Priests and Nuns upon taking Habits, were made to tastes and customs of their specific regions, in Spain, they were normally decorated, as can be seen here. In this case, this volume comes from the now defunct Convent of San Felipe el Real (Saint Philip the Royal), which existed in Madrid and belonged to the Calced Augustinian Monks, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, it suffered a fire in 1718 and during the French Napoleonic invasion it suffered greatly; finally, following the Confiscation (Desamortizacion) of Mendizabal, it was demolished to widen the Calle Mayor. The famous Desamortizacion of Mendizabal was a series of decrees that lead to the expropriation and privatization of monastic property in Spain.

This particular book of professions is an exceptionally fine and beautiful example which exemplifies how prized such volumes were by convents and monasteries.

Provenance: Duque de T´Serclaes; French trade, offered with a French export license, note on verso of flyleaf “A su querido amigo Exmo Sr. Duque de T´Serclaes insigne bibliofilo español y docto academic de numero de la Historia. En testimonio de eterno agradecimiento se ofrecer este pequeño obsequio José G. de Arnesto, Madrid V-11=1910”.