Arthur (also known as Anselm) Crowder or Crowther (1588/9-1666) was a Benedictine monk from Montgomeryshire in Wales. He had particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, and established a Chapel of the Rosary in London with an altar dedicated to Our Blessed Lady of Power. The chapel was adorned with two relics, a piece of the Holy Thorn formerly kept in Glastonbury Abbey, and a piece of the Holy Cross that had been taken from the Royal Chapel on the accession of Queen Elizabeth by John Feckenham, Abbot of Westminster and Clerk of the Chapel to Queen Mary. A Confraternity of the Rosary was established in connection to Crowder’s chapel which attracted a number of important figures, including Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan, who became the Confraternity's Prefect. Thomas Vincent Sadler was also a Benedictine monk and Dean of the Confraternity.

This book of devotions was written for the community of ‘devout rosarists’ associated with Crowder’s Chapel of the Rosary. It contains several texts to aid in their daily devotions, including theological tracts, rules and statues of the Confraternity and a series of blessings. It is the second edition, the first being published in 1657, and is dedicated to Queen Catherine of Braganza. This dedication is reflected in one of the book’s two engraved frontispieces, which shows Catherine being crowned by two angels, surrounded by the Virgin and Child and the images of the Sacraments. The other frontispiece depicts the saints Benedict and Dominic to either side of an image of Jesus, Mary and Joseph blessed by the dove of the Holy Spirit.

The book is bound in brown goatskin and tooled (stamped) on the front with three ribbons each containing the words: ‘JESUS’, ‘MARIA’ and ‘JOSEPH’, and on the back with the arms of Catherine of Braganza. The tooling would originally been in gold, but has now mostly been worn away. It is unusual for a binding to so closely reflect the subject matter and dedication of the text. Copies of the first edition are also tooled with a banner containing the words ‘JESUS’, ‘MARIA’ and ‘JOSEPH’, though these a shown springing from a vase. The dedication of the first edition, which was addressed to Robert Brudenell, references this design on the binding: “Though this little Book, which carries on its Front, the lovely Names of JESUS, MARIA, JOSEPH, can want no forreign recommendation, whereby to invite all faithfull Christians, and especially the devout Rosarists to receive and embrace it.” A direct reference in the text to a book’s binding is unusual if not unique at this time. This level of detail suggests that the two authors Crowder and Sadler may have specified a design for the binding of copies of their texts, one that closely reflected its content.

Binding information

Contemporary dark brown goatskin. The tooling would originally have been in gold, and some gold still survives on the spine and the wreath on the right board, but the majority is worn away so that the design appears blind-tooled.

Both sides contain an outer border delineated by double fillet lines filled with strawberry, vine and flowers tool, applied as if a roll, followed by an inner border of two double fillet lines with diamond-shaped vine and flower corner tools on each of the inside corners. On the right side, three ribbons each containing the words: ‘IESVS’, ‘MARIA’ and ‘IOSEPH’ tooled in the centre, surrounded by an oval border with five flower heads and an outer wreath. On the left side, the arms of Portugal (signifying Catherine of Braganza, five shields in cross each charged with five roundels (plates) in saltire a bordure charged with seven castles for Castile (Portugal)), tooled in the centre, framed by fronds, surmounted by a crown and surrounded by a laurel wreath.

Inside of boards gold-tooled with a roll with leaf design.

Spine divided into five compartments with raised bands. Decoration very worn, but tooled with a ‘wheel-like’ design and squares.

There is a copy of the same text in the British Library with a very similar binding: BL C 108 s 4: Jesus, Maria, Joseph: or, the Devout pilgrim of the ever blessed Virgin Mary (Amsterdam, 1663). This copy contains exactly the same central design on the sides, with the right side containing ribbons with the words: ‘IESVS’, ‘MARIA’ and ‘IOSEPH’ and the left arms of Portugal (Catherine of Braganza), as well as identical inner diamond-shaped corner tools. However, there is extra floral decoration on the inner panel and the border is of a different design, this time alternating flower-heads within semi-circles and vines.

The British Library copy is catalogued on British Armorial Bindings as bound by ‘Nott’ (who was possibly the Queens Binder A).

The Royal Library copy has been is heavily worn and shows signs of quite extensive use, especially in comparison with the British Library copy, which still retains its gold-tooling.