Antique Year 1775 Louis XVI Era Religious Breviarium Romanum

An exquisite example bound in fine red Morocco, it was published during the first year of the reign of Louis XVI, n 1775. It is a Roman Breviary and is written in Latin. The text was specific for the autumn quarter of the year (Pars Autumnalis).

The Roman Breviary (Latin: Breviarium Romanum) is the liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office (at the canonical hours or Liturgy of the Hours, the Christians' daily prayer).

The binding is of fine red Morocco leather which was one of the most expensive leathers of the period. The back and front cover boards have exquisitely hand tooled borders (small tools with specific shapes were heated and dipped in gilt, each part of the design was hand applied). Delicate cone shaped flowers, daisies, leaves and circles combine to create a lace-like border. The spine has five raised ribs. The title plates are gilt tooled onto Moroccan leather. Delicate gilt tooling fills each compartment created by the ribs. The endpapers are marbled which is specific to the era. The page edges are gilded. There is an original 18th century etiquette ticket inside the front cover from bookseller, "Se vend a Bordeaux, chez P. Gauvry Librairie, Rue Saint James". The inner leather edges are finely gilt tooled.

The Latin text is presented in two columns. There is a manuscript (hand written ) dedication on the frontispiece, "aux religieuses de Notre Dame au Palais Galien a Bordeaux" indicating that this book was given to the sisters of this specific parish. The publish date of 1775 is written in Roman numerals at the bottom of the frontispiece. The book measures 6 3/4" x 3 3/4" and is 2" thick. It is in good antique condition for it's age of 243 years. The first title page is coming apart from the binding, but is still attached in two places. The red Morocco leather has faded and worn over time as is expected. The back cover board has some scratching typical to use and age. There is one tiny hole in the leather of the front cover board at the lower left corner. The page edges are uneven which is typical of bindings which are used often.

We love antique books as they have a specific documented date, the place of publication (in this case Paris) and the publisher (Apud Augustinum-Martinum-LOTTIN). This book carries additional provenance from the original bookseller as well as the manuscript dedication. It is a precious binding which survived the French Revolution, a time when books were ceremoniously burned. It holds much history within the pages and is an amazing survivor from the era of Louis XVI.