Americas.- Mexican Novenas.- [Sammelband of 22 novenas], most with woodcut frontispiece or illustrations, early signature crossed out on first title, manuscript list of contents on rear pastedown (one not present), lacking free endpapers, contemporary vellum, a little worn, 16mo, Mexico, 1776-1804.

⁂ A treasury of small Mexican religious tracts. A novena is a nine day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favours, or make petitions, derived from the Latin novem, meaning nine. As the definition suggests, the novena has always had more of a sense of urgency and neediness. In a liturgical usage, the novena differs from an octave which has a more festive character, and either precedes or follows an important feast.

The novena has been an important part of Christianity in the Caribbean and Latin America, both among the native Indian communities who converted to Christianity under the colonial Spanish or Portuguese rule, as well as the diverse communities that formed anew from millions of slaves and indentured labourers brought to the Americas from different parts of Africa and Asia. The devotional prayers are dedicated to statues of Jesus Christ, Madonna and various saints. They are also a part of velorio (wake) after the death of someone, which includes nine nights of novena (rezos de los nueve días).

Two of those offered here appear to be otherwise unrecorded titles, not found
in Medina, OCLC, Palau, or elsewhere:
Devocion diaria en honor de los siete singularisimos. [16] pp. Mexico: Joseph de Juaregui, 1794;
Novena de el glorioso apostol San Judas Thadeo. [28] pp. Mexico: Joseph Juaregui, 1776 (though this is stated to be a reprint of an earlier novena).

A full list of titles is available from the auctioneers upon request.