 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SERVICE
BOOKS
FOR BOOKS OF COMMON PRAYER, solely, click here.
The Beatus vir . . . Gorgeously Produced, Beautifully Framed
Catholic Church. Liturgy & Ritual. Psalter. Manuscript leaf. Northern Italy: ca. 1490. Folio. [1] f. (56 x 42 cm; 22" x 16").
Click the image for an enlargement. 
large, magnificent Benedictine Psalter, this is the start of Psalm 1, “Beatus vir . . .” (“Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all [whatsoever he shall do shall prosper]. . . . ”).
The text appears here in sepia ink in a large Renaissance rotunda hand, set forth to the point of our bracket above, illuminated and featuring
a large miniature of King David filling the center of a large initial B. Along the bottom margin in three medallions are 
Saints Mark, Benedict (center bottom), and Laurence; the right margin has two additional medallion portraits of unidentified female figures. The margins are garnished with gilt and bright-colored flowers, among which hidesthe small image of a deer — “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God”?
• Matted and under glass in an elegant 20th-century gilt frame, ready for hanging. We have not opened this to discover whether Psalm 1 continues (or Job concludes) on the other side of the leaf, but the suspicion must be, given the beauty and quality of the side showing, that this is a leaf that would benefit from double-glazing showcasing both sides. (33296)
Pocket-Size Greek Marian Liturgy — RED/Black & ELEGANTCatholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. Little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Greek. [three lines in Greek transliterated as ] Akolouthia tes makarias Parthenou Marias. Patavii: Ex Typographia Seminarii, 1713. 12mo (11.6 cm, 4.75’’). [24], 258, [6] pp. (last three blank).
Click the images for enlargements.
Such so-called “red and black” devotional and liturgical books as this present one were popular and remunerative.
Provenance: Inscription “Ex Lib (?) Ma[ri]ae Nicolai Stanislav Meucci Ex dono Δ.Μ.Κ. 1737 26 [Dice]mbre 1738 12 Nov. 1792 26 [Dice]mbre 1739" (probably a monk in an unidentified Orthodox monastery of Sts Mary and Nicholas); 19th-century stamp Pallavicini to front pastedown. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
WorldCat locates four copies, only two in the US (Princeton, Dayton).
• Contemporary limp vellum, title inked to spine; spine a little creased with two small wormholes at tail. Text is age-toned and clean, with tiny chips (really “nicks”) to a fore-edge or two only. Treasurable. (41302)
Pickering BCP Facsimile — LAVISHED with the Work of
MARY BYFIELD
Church of England. Book of Common Prayer. The book of common prayer: King James, anno 1604, commonly called the Hampton Court Book. London: William Pickering (pr. by Charles Whittingham), 1844. Folio (35.1 cm, 13.8"). [260] pp.
Click the images for enlargements.
illustrated with wood-engraved initials and ornaments done by Mary Byfield, and limited toonly 350 copies printed on paper (with another two on vellum). The original title-pages were reproduced for each inred and black, and in the case of the present example, the almanac pages likewise printed in red and black. Each book in this homage to important editions of the BCP wasan outstanding example of the Victorian-era Gothic design movement, and Kelly notes that these volumes are “considered to be among the finest work of Whittingham.” 
Provenance: Front free endpaper with small stamp of B[asil] M. Pickering, who took over the business after his father's death; later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
• Brunet, I, 1108; Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, 1844:29; Kelly, Checklist of Books Published by William Pickering, 1844.4; Keynes, William Pickering (rev. ed.), p. 85; McLean, Victorian Book Design, 13; Pickering & Chatto, William Pickering (catalogue 708), 222. Bound as above, joints and extremities showing moderate rubbing. Scattered spots of faint to mild foxing, pages generally clean and fresh. (39585)
C of E Communion . . . Daily Self-Examinations & Meditations(Church of England). The new week's preparation for a worthy receiving of the Lord's Supper ... with forms of examination and confession of sins and a Companion at the altar directing the communicant in his behaviour and devotions at the Lord's table.... London [i.e., York]: Pr. from the edition of the late Edwd. Wickstead for T. Wilson & R. Spence, [between 1791 & 1794]. 12mo (15.3 cm, 6.02"). Frontis., [4], vi, 148 pp. [bound with] The new week's preparation for worthy receiving of the Lord's Supper, as appointed and practiced by the Church of England; part the second: Consisting of meditations, prayers, and hymns ... with a form of daily self-examination. London: Pr. from the edition of the late Edwd. Wickstead for A. Millar, W. Law, & E. Cater; and for Wilson, Spence, & Mawman, 1795. Frontis., [3]–144 pp.
Click the images for enlargements.printed in York rather than London as claimed by the title-pages — of parts one and two of this standard devotional work, bound together and incorporating William Vickers' Companion to the Altar into the first part (without attribution). The volume opens with an engraved title-page, and
each part features a copper-engraved frontispiece: the first depicting a well-dressed woman praying in an elegantly appointed library, and the second the Last Supper. 
An attractively printed personal devotional and one less frequently encountered than the “official” William Bent editions. (41888)
For BOOKS OF COMMON PRAYER, click here.
German-American CATHOLIC Personal Devotions — An EXTENDED ManuscriptKary, Simon. Manuscript on paper, in German, transcribed as: [one or two words blotted and unclear, then] sich befinden in Andachtübung Gott deß Morgens, und Abends, bey den Heiligen Meß, Beicht und Kommunion Gebettern zu sprechen. Wie auch unterschiedliche Getbetter zu Christo, und Maria, auf die fürnehmsten FestTage deß Jahrs. Und auch Gebetter zu dem Heiligen Gottes zu finden sein. Zu grössern Ehr und Seelen Trost. Geschrieben worden von dem Simon Kary im Jahr 1799. [i.e., Catholic prayer book]. No place [Pennsylvania]: 1799. 12mo (16.3 cm, 6.4"). [2], 136 pp.
Click the images for enlargements.There were no German-language Catholic prayer books published in the U.S. until the 19th century, so those wishing to have one before then had to have a bookstore import it or engender one in manuscript — either by hiring a scribe or by inditing it personally.
His lovingly created, appealingly decorated late-18th-century manuscript book of German Catholic devotional prayers (i.e., Gebetsbüchlein) is in the typical German-American fraktur style — in his codex, the title-page, sectional title-pages, and sub-section beginnings are written in fraktur lettering in red, green, black, and rose, with the initial line or lines of each prayer in red only, and the text is written throughout in sepia in cursive. All pages are given double-ruled borders; some of the fraktur capitals incorporate foliate and floral designs.
original block-printed paper wrappers have survived with it.
German-American Catholic fraktur prayer books are rare but not unknown; for example, the renowned collection of fraktur at the Free Library of Philadelphia contains a “Himmlischer Palm Zweig Worinen die Auserlesene Morgen Abend Auch Beicht und Kommunion Wie auch zum H. Sakrament In Christo und seinen Leiden, wie auch zur der H. Mutter Gottes, 1787" (item no: frkm064000; https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/41639). Still, early German-American Catholic religious manuscripts are
objectively rare, especially on the market.
Manuscript additions to the manuscript: An early-19th-century owner of Kary's manuscript has added somberly appropriate matter opposite its title-page, i.e., on the inside of the front wrapper, that reads, in translation: “Forget not your father and your mother, for they have died. My most honored father died on 17th March in the year of the Lord [1]784. My beloved mother died on 6th December in the year of the Lord [1]801. The 14th November in the year of the Lord [1]803. M.S. in the sign of the fish.”
Provenance: Simon Kary in 1799; by 1803 owned by M.S. (as per inside front wrapper). Later early-19th-century ownership signature of Anna Holzinger on title-page; later 19th-century pencil signature of “Theresa” in lower margin of same with similar inscription on the outside of the front wrapper.
• We thank Prof. Edward Quinter for his help in ranscribing and translating this manuscript's title-page and translating the family notes opposite it. Recent light blue paper–covered boards with printed paper spine label, original block-printed wrappers preserved inside; early inked annotations in German on inside of original front wrapper and elsewhere, as detailed above. First two leaves and several others with areas of waterstaining, with tissue-paper repair to title-page partially obscuring several lines of text; last leaves with areas darkened as with some variety of oil. Pages age-toned, with scattered spots and occasional offsetting. A manuscript attractive, engaging, and worthy of study; an enduring testimony to piety among an important, early American religious minority. (41242)
A “Little Manual . . . FIRST Designed for PRIVATE Use” of TWO PRINCESSESLake, Edward. Officium eucharisticum. A preparatory service to a devout and worthy reception of the Lord's Supper. Dublin: Printed by and for Samuel Fairbrother, 1724. 12mo (14.5 cm; 5.75"). [4] ff., 176 pp.
Click the images for enlargements. PRINTED IN IRELAND, all of which are rare andnone of which are reported as held in any U.S. library. Overall this is “the 21st. edition corrected and enlarged. To which is added, a meditation for every day in the week.” A wonderful, small, go-with-you work of personal worship.
Lake was “chaplain and tutor to the princesses Mary and Anne, daughters of James, duke of York” and originally wrote this “devotional manual . . . for his royal pupils” (ODNB).
Provenance: On front free endpaper in an 18th-century hand; “Wm. A. Put Bo[ugh]t of Nau Winkle & Co.”
• ESTC T134200. Contemporary acid-stained calf, round spine, no raised bands, gilt double-rules creating spine compartments, one with a red leather gilt title-label; front cover reattached using the long-fiber method. Light age-toning. A very nice copy. (33142)
A Highly SignificantAmerican Judaicum
Leeser, Isaac, ed. & tr. [title in Hebrew, transliterated as] Sidure divre tsadikim kolel seder ha-tefilot mi-kol ha-shanah ke-minhag ... Ashkenaz u-Polin.... [from the added title-page in English: Philadelphia: Printed by G. Sherman, for the editor, 1848]. 8vo. viii, 242, 2–243, [1] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. the first Ashkenazic prayer book edited and printed in America. Its editor, Isaac Leeser (1806–68), was a towering figure in American Jewry in the 19th century: writer, educator, and hazan of the Mikveh Israel congregation in Philadelphia.
The English-language title-page reads, “The book of daily prayers for every day in the year. According to the custom of the German and Polish Jews.” The text is presented with the original Hebrew and English translation on opposite pages.
Provenance: 19th-century ownership stamp of “Mme. Bernheim, 603 Magazine St., New-Orleans.”
• Rosenbach, Jewish, 636; Singerman, Judaica Americana, 1024; Goldman 37. Contemporary full, plain, treed calf, with a black leather spine label. Expectable wear to spine from use. Scattered light foxing. A good++ copy with a provenance worthy of research. (32879)
OUR NEWEST ARRIVALS!
 |
PRB&M/SessaBks |  |
