Browse Similar Items
NOUVELLES HEURES ET PRIERES.
(Paris: Léon Gruel [and R. Engelmann], [ca. 1890?]). 155 x 120 mm. (6 1/8 x 4 3/4"). [1] p.l., 176 pp. [3] leaves
Lovely late 19th or early 20th century brown morocco, covers with two gilt frames of repeating floral motifs separated by gilt rules, center panel semé with fleurs-de-lys, raised bands, spine gilt in compartments with gilt rules and fleurs-de-lys, gilt lettering, red silk moiré endleaves, all edges gilt. With three full-page miniatures, each leaf of text (including title) with a different border inspired by Medieval manuscripts, entirely chromolithographed in colors and gold. Silk endpaper with gilt-embossed initials "M. F. L." dated 8 June 1939. A VERY FINE COPY inside and out.
Beautifully printed in colors and gold by a leading French firm, this luxuriously bound prayer book was probably presented as a special gift to mark an important occasion. Each page displays an elaborate border inspired by different European manuscripts from the 14th-16th centuries, creating a richly colored mélange of styles and designs that include marginalia, intricate rinceaux, floral embellishments, and figural images, all printed using chromolithography. In her "Bookbinders and their Craft," Prideaux says that the Gruel firm, founded in 1811, "always had the highest reputation . . . for initiative in artistic matters, as well as for irreproachable execution in the detail of its many-sided achievements." In 1851, the widowed Madame Gruel married the printer Englemann, and they joined forces to print and bind handsomely produced volumes like the present item. Although our binding is unsigned, the work is of high quality and could possibly be a later product of the Gruel firm, which remained in operation until the mid-20th century. At the same time, the "1939" on the endpaper seems not to be a reliable indication of publication date, which very probably was closer to the turn of the 20th century. (ST21007)
Price: $1,200.00