LA CROIX (Henry de).

Hours for the white penitents. In which are included the three offices of Our Lady, that of the Dead, those of the four solemn feasts, that of the Passion, those of Holy Week, [...]. With short prayers for devoutly hearing the Holy Mass [...]. Together an exact ceremonial of the aforementioned chapel [...]. Third Edition. Avignon, De l'Imprimerie de Charles Giroud, Et se vendent à Montpellier, Antoine Rigaud, 1729. In-4, red morocco, right gilt lace, emblem of the Holy Spirit in the corners, ornate spine, same emblem repeated in the caissons, green title page, interior roulette, gilt edges (Binding of the time). Very rare Hours intended for the officers and brothers of the devout company of the White Penitents of Montpellier, a brotherhood erected in the sixteenth century under the name and invocation of the Holy Spirit and placed under the protection of the Holy Virgin. These hours were drawn up by Brother Henry de La Croix de Castries, master of ceremonies of the chapel of the White Penitents of Montpellier in 1649. Three editions followed one another, all of them very rare: the first one dates back to 1654, published in Montpellier, and the second in 1700. The present edition of 1729, the third and last, contains, transcribed at the end of the volume and following the ceremonial, the statutes of the company which were confirmed in 1610. It is printed on two columns, in large red and black characters (cf. Jules Delalain, Les Pénitents blancs et les Pénitents bleus de la ville de Montpellier, 1874.) Superb copy, in a morocco binding with lace decorated with the emblems of the Holy Spirit. Slight wetness on the lower edge of about fifteen leaves at the beginning of the volume, a few quires slightly faded. Small tear on the second cover.