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PAROISSIEN ROMAIN D'APRÈS LES IMPRIMÉS FRANÇAIS DU XVme SIÈCLE.
(Paris: [Printed by J. Claye for] Gruel & Engelman, 1858). 155 x 117 mm. (6 1/8 x 4 5/8"). 703, [1] pp.
VERY FINE GOTHIC-STYLE BLIND-STAMPED BROWN MOROCCO BY LÉON GRUEL (stamp-signed at foot of spine), covers with central panel showing the Tree of Jesse, surrounded by the words "Egredietur virga de radice Iesse et flos deradice eius ascendet et requiescat super eum" [A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his root, and rest upon him"], this framed by a roll of grapevines and floral vines, oblique fleur-de-lys at each corner, two silver square knot fore-edge clasps (one catchplate replaced), raised bands, densely gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers and flyleaves, all edges stained red. In a very fine brown morocco-backed buckram drop-back box, with padded plush interior, gilt lettering on spine. Title page and colophon with large device of Gruel & Engleman featuring two angels, verso of title with printer's device of J. Claye, each page with elaborate woodcut border featuring biblical scenes, modelled on those in printed 15th century French Prayer books, and seven miniatures (Tree of Jesse, Crucifixion, Deposition, Pentecost, Trinity, Conception of the Virgin, Annunciation to the Virgin). Front flyleaf with a lengthy ink inscription to Mademoiselle Jeanne Ansart from printer Jules Claye in elegant calligraphic hand, dated 1 December 1876. With three contemporary prayer cards and two commemorative cards--one for the ordination of a priest, one for a nun professing her initial vows--laid in. See Judge, "Léon Gruel: Master of Medieval Revival in Bookbinding," Encyclopedia of Design (2021), online: https://encyclopedia.design/2024/03/21/leon-gruel-master-of-medieval-revival-in-bookbinding/; Jeremy Norman, "Master Printer Jules Claye Inscribes a Copy of a Book of Hours that He Printed on Vellum," History of Information online: https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5590. Faint rubbing to joints and extremities, isolated trivial thumbing, one small red smudge, but A VERY FINE COPY--clean, fresh, and bright internally, in a very lustrous binding with sharp impressions of the stamps.
A luxurious volume in every way, this is the only known copy printed on vellum of a 15th century-style prayer book created by distinguished Parisian publishers Gruel et Engelmann; it was bound by a celebrated craftsman who was an expert on the history of his craft, and presented by the printer to a young woman, perhaps to commemorate her taking religious vows. The firm that became Gruel et Engelmann had a complex evolution. It was founded as a bindery by Isidore Desforges in 1811, and after Desforges' daughter Catherine married Paul Gruel (1800-46), the latter took over the business in 1825. Following his death, Catherine kept the bindery going for five years before marrying Parisian publisher Jean Engelmann (d. 1875). The spouses merged their firms and combined their specialties to produce beautiful devotional books inspired by Medieval manuscript Books of Hours and early printed prayer books, bound in appropriately historic styles. Catherine's son Léon Gruel (1840-1923) joined the firm as a binder, and after his stepfather's death, Gruel et Engelmann was run by Léon, who headed the binding division, and his stepbrother Edmond Engelmann, who was in charge of the design and printing of books. In her "Bookbinders and their Craft," Prideaux says that the Gruel firm "always had the highest reputation . . . for initiative in artistic matters, as well as for irreproachable execution in the detail of its many-sided achievements." The productions of Gruel et Englemann were informed by the collecting enthusiasms of the brothers--Léon's for historical bindings and Edmond's for illuminated manuscripts. Under their direction, Gruel et Engelmann published and bound numerous works of devotion, like the present "Paroissien," a service book that includes the texts and prayers (in Latin and French) used to celebrate Mass throughout the year. The author of "Manuel Historique et Bibliographique de l'Amateur de Relieure" and an expert on historical bindings, Léon Gruel was adept at replicating any number of antiquarian bindings styles. As he noted in an interview with "The Bookman" in 1900, "Modern book binding has discovered nothing to equal the old designs, and at best we can only copy." For this volume he chose the very appropriate Gothic style, a particular favorite of his. According to the "Encyclopedia of Design," Gruel's "blend of reverence for the past with innovative application in the present allowed [him] to recreate historical styles with unparalleled accuracy and creativity." According to the former owner of this book, distinguished bibliophile and rare book dealer Jeremy Norman, Gruel et Engelmann never advertised a vellum printing of this title, leading him to believe that their printer Jules Claye (1806-86)--whom he considers "one of the great French trade printers of the mid-19th century"--printed this copy on vellum for himself. The sturdy vellum leaves make the text block here 63 mm. thick--a considerable bulk for a volume of this size. Claye recognized this and even concluded his lengthy and elegantly calligraphed inscription to Mlle. Jeanne Ansart with a graceful apology for the weight of the book: "As you approach the hour when God shall bless you, / I offer prayers for you, though we have never met, / And I come to consecrate, with a devout remembrance, / The day you shall behold this new dawn. / This work of my hands—I must admit— / Is heavy for yours to bear, yet it shall endure. / Forgive me, remembering that our Divine Master / Climbed Golgotha beneath the burden of His cross." While it is possible that "the hour when God shall bless you" and "this new dawn" might indicate a marriage, it seems more likely that this refers to Mlle. Ansart's taking the veil. The presence here of a Mass card that depicts a young woman professing her initial vows as a nun would seem to support this theory. Whatever path she chose, Jeanne Ansart and successive owners cherished and carefully protected this luxurious volume over the years, leaving it for us to savor visually and tactilely. (ST21120)
Price: $12,500.00