This is the first edition of the issue/state of the texts in two volumes.

The highly developed system of characters used in these books was invented by Fr. Chrestien Le Clercq (b. 1641) and was used beginning in the late 17th century by the Micmac for both religious and nonreligious texts, written on birch bark. In this production, the Micmac characters are printed on blue-green paper.

Provenance: Owned by H.W. Longfellow with “Micmac Language” in his hand on the recto of the frontispiece of the Gesangbuch and “Micmac Language New Brunswick” in his hand on the recto of the frontispiece of the other volume.

•  Pilling, Algonquian, 275; Pilling, Proof-sheets, 2058 & 2059. The set not Evans, Masinahikan; not in Banks (rev. ed.), Books in Native Languages; not in Newberry Library, Ayer Indians.   Each volume bound in black oilcloth wallet-style with a natural cloth tie; some adhesion of old paper to the exteriors of the bindings. Internally very attractive clean, and with awonderful provenance.  (29261)

The title-page has an engraving of angels before a monstrance, two with censers. The masses begin with a small charming woodcut initial, and the major feasts and the Canon are each preceded by a full-page engraving, some of which are signed by Iottain: these are the Annunciation (First Sunday of Advent), Nativity of our Lord, Adoration of the Magi (Epiphany), Crucifixion (Canon), Risen Christ (Easter Day), Ascension, Pentecost, Last Supper (Corpus Christi), Assumption, and All Saints. There are more than 50 pp. of music, including the Exsultet and the prefaces, printed with black square notes on a red four line staff, as usual.

Provenance: On the title-page below the engraved vignette is the following inscription: “Pro Monasterio B.M.V. in Plass S.O.Cist comparavit R[everendissimus] D[ominus] Benedict Engelken loci abbas . . . Anno D[omin]i 1673.” Plass or Plasy is a Cistercian abbey (now redundant) in western Bohemia, founded ca. 1144. On the verso of second front flyleaf is inscribed in ink “Sacristiæ S. Thomæ a 1 Julii 1804.”

•  Mottled calf with remnants of sumptuous gilt; rebacked, leather with holes for hardware not present; stained and peeling in places. Leaves in good condition for a missal; some paper repairs in margins with loss of rules, a few small holes in bottom margins, expected soiling on most used pages and some in margins elsewhere, no obscured or lost text. Marbled endpapers. Vellum tabs for leaves of canon. Six silk placemarkers attached to a red and green silk headband (not part of binding). All edges gauffered and gilt.

The main title-page is printed in red and black; the separate title-page for the Psalter has a neat woodcut printer's vignette and blazons (in Greek type) Psalterion prophetou kai basileos tou Dabid. The elegant Greek type is set in double columns, with some nicely laid in typographic ornaments and decorated capitals. The signing is erratic, but the collation of this example matches most recorded descriptions: Leaf α1, apparently a cancel in a few copies but lacking in most reported examples and not present here, was a supplemental title-page giving Biblos dēmosiōn euchōn, kai leitourgēseōs mystēriōn; Griffiths calls for only one preliminary leaf, as is found here, with the other leaf in the gathering being a blank. Leaf 1C2 is a cancel.

Provenance:  Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of Twistleton Fiennes, with that family's motto: “Fortem posce animum”; front free endpaper rubber-stamped “Birch” and front fly-leaf inked “Tho.s Birch e Coll. Herts. Oxon.” (apparently neither the historian nor the marine painter); title-page with inked monogram (obscure).

•  ESTC S108726; STC (rev. ed.) 16432 & 2353; Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, (Other Languages) 45/2. Psalter: Darlow & Moule 4683. See: Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer 57.   Contemporary speckled calf, covers framed in gilt double fillets, rebacked with speckled calf quite plainly (without labels but with gilt-dotted raised bands); corners rubbed, original leather showing expectable acid-pitting. One preliminary blank (only) lacking; title-pages trimmed closely at outer edge, affecting typographical border and (on main page) one letter of publication information. Ownership marks as above. Pages lightly age-toned, otherwise clean; tiny spot of worming in lower inner margin, not affecting text. A handsome and evocative little book.  (26373)

Provenance:  George Richard Mackarness M.A. (bookplate); Wallace Parham (bookplateand sticker).

•  Gewirtz, But One Use, 55; ESTC T141242; Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, 1717/2.   Binding as above; leather cracking slightly along joints and scuffed in a few places, chips at top of spine. Lacking volvelle, as is almost always the case; later manuscript note citing Walpole's “Anecdotes of Painting” laid in. Age-toning/soiling across page-bottoms and lower outer corners, with only a bit of soiling/spotting otherwise; reds remain very bright and impressions dark and crisp. Ink inscription “From my mother Jan. 1855" on front fly-leaf verso. A wondrously beautiful piece of devotional art in very nice condition.  (30126)

Click either image for an enlargement.

This particular choirbook was printed with 10 lines of text and music per page. Each leaf contains music and words, and is printed in black and red; text is in black, with an occasional small letter in red, and the music is provided in black square notation on a four-line red staff. Antiphons begin with a tall decorative initial printed in red, as high as the text and music together. The initials vary from leaf to leaf.

•  Crisp, wide margined leaf with slightest bleed-through from one side to another. Printed on handmade paper of 100% rag. A marvelous display, accent, or gift item.