This book its titled Preparacam Para A Eternidade, Offerecida Ao Descuido Humano, which means Prepare for the Eternity Offered by Human Neglect. It was written by Father Ignacio Manoel and published in Lisbon by Valentim Da Costa Deslandes in 1705, and it was published with all the necessary licenses, according to the title page. The book focused on Catholic life and eternity, with emblem pages featuring skeletons that symbolized death, and this is Father Manoel’s most notable work.
We don’t know much about Ignacio Manoel (or Inácio Manuel), but he was a Jesuit priest who apparently did mission work in the Province of Goa, on the southwest coast of India. Portugal had Catholic missionaries in India in the 1700’s with their religious center in Goa, even though their power was waning at the time, while other European powers were establishing their own missions in the country. The work of the Jesuits contributed to religious conversion efforts and gave the Portuguese crown knowledge of the geography of the area.
The title on the frontispiece is misspelled, so we believe that is a point of issue which makes this a first edition - the frontispiece reads “Preparacam Pera A Eternidade”, instead of “Preparacam Para A Eternidade” - and the book has four raised bands, with a maroon label and horizontal gilt bands and gilt decorations on the spine, brown boards, pencilled notes on the front and rear endpapers, then the frontispiece, the title page, the author writes a six-page dedication about Human Negligence concerning matters of the afterlife (the other life, or “outra vida”), then a twenty-three page note in the text (“Noticia”) addressed to the reader to have faith in eternity, with two sections summarizing the Pondercam (ponderings or reflections) - one is about life being a journey to eternity and the other suggests that the journey to eternity is risky, with two paths, and there’s only one real path to follow so you don’t get lost, along with several Prevencam (preventions or precautions) for the journey to eternity. There are 255 pages of text, the last page at the rear lists three official licenses that were granted so the book could be printed (“licensas”) - the first approval was granted by the Order of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), then the approval of the Holy Office of the church in Lisbon, the last approval was by the Royal Palace in Lisbon, and the page clearly says that the book could not be printed without these licenses. There are publisher’s notes in the margins and the text is in Portuguese, with snippets of Latin here and there. The date is in Roman numerals on the title page (MDCCV), the page numbers are in arabic numerals, and there are three copperplate engravings: the frontispiece shows two angels holding a banner which reads “Hominis Est Animam Praeparare” (Proverbs 16, It is for man to prepare his soul), an engraving on the page just before the first Pondercam (page 25) shows a hand coming out of a cloud and holding a compass, as if looking for the person’s path in life - it reads “Laborandum Aeternitati” (Ecclesiates 12.5 - you have to work for eternity) - and the last engraving is an emblem opposite page 48 which shows a skeleton wearing a crown and holding two rings with a banner - the banner at the top reads “Gloriae Gehannae”, a term for hell, and the banner that goes through the rings reads “Cesse Eat Ne Intrare” and “Er Alter Utram”, which mean “Cease to enter” and “He chooses either”, warning readers to choose a good path in life.
Valentim da Costa Deslandes was a printer and publisher who was active in Lisbon during the early 18th century, with registered publications dating from 1703 to 1709. He held the title "impressor de Sua Magestade" (printer to His Majesty), which gave him a special status and allowed him to work in an official capacity in Portugal, and no one else could copy his works during that time period. Books from his press are found in major institutional collections and are considered rare books.
The book measures 8 x 6 inches wide and is in very good condition for its age. The binding is tight with wear and slight loss at the crown, a couple of chips on the front cover, light rubbing or wear along the edges of the boards, wear at the tips, with some tips turned in, pencilled notes on the front and rear endpapers, the pages are pretty clean, with light soiling and occasional brown spots in the margins, light corner creases on some pages, a small tear in the margin on page 58, we are not sure if the boards are original to the book, and all the pages, text, and engravings are present.
We could only find two copies listed on WorldCat, one in the Houghton Library at Harvard and the other at the British Museum in London, so the book is rare and hard to find. We found one auction record for the book for $110 at Eclectica Leiloes in Azeitao, Portugal and one sales record for the book for €250 ($290) by Livraria Alfarrabista Manuel Ferreira, an antiquarian book seller in Lisbon and a specialist in rare, old, and first edition books; these are not asking prices, but actual sales records for the book, and we are starting the bidding low for this early 1700’s Jesuit work by Ignacio Manoel.
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