An Introduction to the Agnieszka and Timothy J. Johnson Collection of Rare Books

Franciscans in La Florida, like their confreres everywhere, curated library collections to enhance their pastoral ministry, theological education, and personal edification. Due to the vicissitudes of war, the noteworthy collection of books housed in the provincial friary in Saint Augustine was put to the flame in 1702 by marauding British forces under the command of Colonel James Moore. The Agnieszka and Timothy J. Johnson Collection of Rare Books seeks to identify, acquire, and restore religious texts from the mid-1500s to the mid-1700s that may have circulated among the Franciscan friars in La Florida. This essay notes the historical background of this collection, Flagler College’s interest in the collection of rare books for the Proctor Library, the restoration efforts integral to this mission, and a catalog description of each holding

Collection development · National library · SAINT · Special collections · Early Modern Women Writers · Latin American history and culture · Philosophical and Historical Studies