Religion & Spirituality

The first original printed work by a living author in Irish

An exceptionally rare Irish devotional: the first edition of the first original work by a living author in Irish. The few works printed in Irish appearing prior to this were the Bible, liturgy, or translations of the works of others. This is one of a small group of books from the first press to print and promote Irish writing in the vernacular. The press was an outgrowth of a concentration of scholars skilled in Irish and other languages at St. Anthony's, the Franciscan college at Louvain, which acquired the press in 1611. Active from 1614 to 1618, it issued five books. Though their primary purpose was to train priests for the Irish and Scottish missions, they also published literary works for a wider Irish audience. This was the last production before the press became inactive in Irish printing until 1641, by which date a new fount had been made.

Edward Clifford’s Bible, with inscription by Saint Damien of Molokai, the Apostle of the Lepers

The British artist Edward Clifford’s Bible with an inscription by Saint Damien of Molokai: a heavily worked and extraordinarily personal copy of Bagster’s English Polyglot Bible, transformed by the owner into a hybrid of devotional book, travel diary, sketch-album, and memorial volume, and inscribed by Damien at Kalawao on 20 December 1888, only months before his death.

Extremely rare catechism printed in Tamil by the VOC, one of the earliest books printed in Ceylon

Exceptionally rare first edition of this pioneering effort of the Ceylonese press and a milestone for missionary printing in Tamil, spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia (namely India and Sri Lanka), with overtones of colonial politics and the economic interests of the VOC. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world.

Jesuits around the Globe, with the extraordinary Jesuit map of the Philippines

A treasure trove of 18th century Jesuit missionary activity, compiled by the Jesuit priest and mission historian Fr. Joseph Stöcklein (1676-1733), Der Neue Welt-Bott stands as a grand printed archive of Jesuit missions, a vast compendium of letters and reports reaching from New Spain, California, Sonora, Paraguay, Peru, and the Amazon basin to the wider overseas world, including Pacific islands and the Philippines. A bibliographically complex work, it was published in 38 parts through 1761 and is very rarely found complete, which makes any extensive set especially desirable. The present offering consists of parts 1-32, inclusive (i.e. volumes I - IV of the Neue Welt-Bott). Notably, volume one is present in the first edition, with the 1726 title page (a 1728 second edition is more common seen).

Russo-American religious texts in Aleutian language

Exceptionally rare Russo-American religious texts published in the Aleutian language by Ivan, or Ioann, Veniaminov (1797-1879), the pioneering linguist, Russian orthodox priest and missionary to Alaska. In 1977 he was canonized as St. Innocent of Moscow and venerated as "Enlightener [Apostle] of Alaska and Siberia." Last seen in auction at Sotheby's in 1967. The Russian and Aleut (including some in the Atkan dialect) texts printed in Cyrillic characters.

The first publication in Irish from the Vatican's Propaganda press

First edition of first book to be printed in Irish by the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide. Produced against the backdrop of an era when Irish Catholics were facing oppression from English Protestant dominion, the volume is a testimony to the intertwining of language, religion and national identity in Ireland at a formative moment.

Magnificent Old Believer anthology of the Afterlife

A splendidly illustrated Old Believer miscellany devoted to the Passion, exemplary sanctity, and the fate of the soul. This copy stands out for the scale and ambition of its pictorial programme, preserving 143 full-page miniatures in a rich contemporary Russian velvet binding.

Isabelle de Steiger’s extensively annotated personal copy of Mary Anne Atwood’s great work on spiritual alchemy, preserving unique first-hand testimony concerning its republication and the discovery of Atwood’s “Memorabilia.”

An exceptional association copy of one of the most important modern interpretations of alchemy as a process of spiritual transformation, belonging to the woman principally responsible for rescuing Atwood’s work from nearly seventy years of suppression. Isabelle de Steiger’s personal copy, inscribed: “My first copy, sent to me by Mr. Tait, 11 May 1918, Rock Ferry,” and extensively annotated by her in different inks over several years. One of her final inscriptions reads: “I am re-reading this book perhaps for the last time. October 19th 1926.” She died the following year.

A founding text of Modern Indian Religious Reform

First edition, a landmark in the intellectual and religious history of modern India, The Precepts of Jesus represents Raja Rammohun Roy's bold attempt to separate the ethical teachings of Christ from the theological doctrines of Christianity. Rather than presenting the Gospels in their entirety, Roy compiled only those passages that embodied what he regarded as Christ's universal moral philosophy, deliberately omitting miracles, the Trinity, the Incarnation, and other supernatural elements. Conceived as a work of interreligious dialogue rather than conversion, the volume sought to demonstrate that the ethical teachings of Jesus possessed universal value independent of sectarian dogma. The title-page announced accompanying Sanskrit and Bengali translations, but these never appeared in the published edition. Roy is known for his efforts to abolish Sati practices and child marriage.

The first translation of the Avesta into a European language, a landmark in the European discovery of Zoroastrianism and a foundational work of modern Oriental studies

First edition, the first appearance in a European language of the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, a major document in the European encounter with Asian religions, the result of Anquetil-Duperron’s extraordinary expedition to India in search of the surviving religious literature of ancient Persia. Its publication transformed European knowledge of Zoroaster from a tradition dependent largely upon Greek, Roman and later secondary authorities into one based upon Zoroastrian texts and living Parsi traditions. This first translation of the Avesta into a European language marked an opening the sacred literature of Zoroastrianism to Western scholarship.

The rare first Arabic edition of the Imitation of Christ

The first edition of one of the most enduring works of Christian devotion in Arabic, produced by the press of the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Probably the most widely read Christian work aside from the Bible itself, the translation of Thomas à Kempis's "On the Imitation of Christ" into Arabic represents a monument in the dialogue between the western and eastern Christian traditions that characterised the activities of the Catholic Church activities in the Middle East.

Jesuit news from their Mission in China

Early edition of this letter concerning the progress of the Jesuit Mission in China, sent by Father Francisco Piccolomini, the General of the Society of Jesus, to the Provincial of Aragon, Father F. Franco. Written from Rome in September 1650 and based on letters received from missionaries in Lisbon and via Dutch channels, it was intended to circulate encouraging news among Jesuit provinces.

Rare Ostrog edition with Saint Basil woodcut

"Rare" (Sopikov): the first Slavonic edition of Basil’s treatise, printed at Ostrog by Mstislavets, and a striking Ostrog production with the fine full-page woodcut portrait showing Saint Basil writing. This copy remains especially attractive for its contemporary Russian binding and generous margins.

Exceptionally rare first edition of the Acta Consistorii, the official account of the Tensho Embassy

First edition of the official account of Pope Gregory XIII’s reception of the first Japanese embassy to Europe, the so-called Tenshō Embassy, extremely rare. It includes copies of three letters, dated January 1582, addressed to the Pope from the converted rulers of Bungo, Arima and Omura, which were presented by the Japanese envoys at the public audience; the “Oratio” delivered on their behalf by Gaspar Gonsalves; and Antonio Boccapaduli’s response in the name of the Pope. Later editions were published in 1585 (Padua, Milan, and Germany).