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Paris-Printed
French & Latin INCUNABLE Book of Hours
with
Multi-Element Metal-Cut Borders
Catholic Church. Horae ad usum Romanum. Paris: J[ohann] P[hilippi de Cruzenach], for Thielman Kerver, 1497 (27 June). 8vo (16 cm, 6.25"). [83 of 92] ff. (lacks a1, a7, b1-2, d8, e4-5, l4-5).
[SOLD]
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One of perhaps three editions of the book of hours (use of Rome) that Philippi printed for Kerver in 1497, all three of the known editions being in Latin and French, printed in gothic type, in
red and black, and with
elaborate, multi-element, metal-cut borders, but also using some
woodcut illustrations (e.g., “the Zodiac man” on a2). This copy is on paper.
ISTC locates only four copies worldwide of this edition: Dresden, University of Turin, the Russian State Library, and the Morgan Library. The Dresden copy, now lost, is presumed to have burned with so many of the Dresden incunables during the Allied fire bombing during WWII (or perhaps it is the copy now in the Russian State Library?). The Morgan copy is on vellum and lacks two leaves (e8 and l1).
Provenance: Privately owned in Budapest in July, 1939, and seen there at that time by Belle DaCosta Green.
ISTC ih00384000; Goff H384; IGI 4849; GKW 13157. Bound in boards covered with a portion of a 16th-century vellum manuscript leaf with remnants of leather and metal closures. This copy lacks nine leaves (see collation above), has old paper, tape, and other repairs to a good many margins and a few to areas of the text, and displays a small amount of worming to first/last leaves and a very few others; old waterstaining variously, generally light, and leaves of one small section proud.
Obviously used, obviously treasured, and every opening a feast for the eye. (39866)

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").
$8750.00
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From a
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 hides
the 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)

Rare, Early Puebla Imprint — Unknown to Medina
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. Forma, qve se debe gvardar en el pararse, sentarse, hincar las rodillas, y inclinarse; asi en las missas solemnes, feriales, y rezadas: como tambien en las horas canonicas, en el coro; cforme al rito del ceremonial nuevo romano, mandado imprimir, con sus reglas por...Don Iuan de Palafox, y Mendoza. Puebla de los Angeles: Por el Bachiller Iuan Blanco Alcaçar, 1649. Small 4to. [6] ff. (last a blank).
$7500.00
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Puebla was the second city in New Spain to obtain a printing press, issuing its first book in 1642, not 1640 as Medina claimed. The man responsible for the press's arrival was the same eminent figure mentioned on the title-page of this extremely rare volume: Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. Bishop, later viceroy, Palafox, was one of the most interesting and controversial figures to reside in Mexico during the 17th century. Born in Fitero, Navarre, Spain, in 1600, the illegitimate but recognized son of Jaime Palafox, the Marqués of Ariza, he rose in the service of the Church in Spain through his native talent and his father's connections. In 1640, the king appointed him the bishop of Puebla, Mexico, with special powers to serve concurrently as a visitador, or special investigator, specifically charging him with reforming the various religious orders (Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, etc.) who seemed to defy and stymie the king's will at every turn, and who had grown to be more secular in behavior than was seemly, legal, customary, or acceptable.
The bishop's efforts as visitador met with dogged resistance, even from the viceroy, whom Palafox suspected of being a sympathizer with the Portuguese separatists (and whom he was to succeed).
The various orders initiated protracted legal opposition to everything Palafox attempted.
Notwithstanding the imposing odds against him, Palafox did have his share of unqualified accomplishments during his years in Mexico: He composed and saw into print the codification of the constitution of the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, established a school for girls, founded the famous Palafoxiana Library in Puebla with a donation of 6,000 volumes, and introduced printing in Puebla, Mexico's second largest city during the colonial period.
The printer of this rarity was Bachiller Juan Blanco de Alcaçar (or Alcazar), almost certainly the first printer to set up a press in Puebla de los Angeles. Like many of Mexico's printers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Juan de Alcazar (as he generally identified himself in documents) was well educated: He held a bachelor's degree from the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico. He began his life as a printer in Mexico City in 1617 and there printed several major books, including Fray Martín de León's Manual [y] breve forma de administrar los santos sacramentos a los yndios (1617) and Diego Cisneros's Sitio, naturaleza y propriedades de la ciudad de México (1618). His name disappears from imprint lines of Mexican title-pages and colophons in 1637 to reappear on title-pages printed in Puebla at least as early as 1643; some attribute the “anonymously” printed pieces of 1642 to his press work and more than a few think he printed the even earlier, suppositious Arco triunfal of Mateo Salcedo. From the notarial archives of Puebla we know that he had moved his press to that city by December 1641, and that in January 1642, he had begun to hire apprentices (Pérez Salazar, Los impresores de Puebla en la época colonial [1987 edition], pp. 9–12). The bachiller's “in” (“enchufe” in Spanish) with Bishop Palafox was a strong one: His wife was the sister of Don Luis de Monzón, the Treasurer of the Puebla cathedral (Pérez Salazar, p. 16).
The work at hand, which Bishop Palafox ordered to be printed, explains changes in the newly adopted Ceremonial that affect when congregants sit, kneel, and genuflect. It was
an important work, affecting every communicant at every mass attended.
Searches of NUC Pre-1956, WorldCat, COPAC, CCPBE, BRUIN, and the OPACs of the national library of Spain and Mexico, located only three copies in U.S. libaries and two in Mexican institutions.
Apparently all institutional copies lack the final blank, present in this exemplar and bearing
contemporary manuscript poetry on both sides.
Not in Medina, Puebla; not in Palau; Gavito, Adiciones a La imprenta en la Puebla, 2. Nicolas Antonio,II, 116; Pinelo-Barcia, II, 859; Beristáin de Souza, II, 5. On Blanco de Alcazar, see: Francisco Pérez Salazar, Los impresores de Puebla en la época colonial. Mexican quarter calf binding of the second half of the present century. Small wormhole in upper inner margin, well removed from text. Manuscript additions as above on final blank; on one side, at end of verse, inked skull-and-crossbones devices.
An exceptional copy of a rare book. (37100)

Splendor of the Mass in a
Splendid Binding on a Miniature Book
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. El libro de misa de los niños. Madrid: No publisher/printer, no date [ca. 1860]. Miniature (43 mm; 1.625"). 122 pp., 6 plates (including frontis.).
$500.00
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The Catholic mass is big and splendid but in this book it is made small while still maintaining splendor via the binding on a miniature book designed to guide children through the ritual.
Binding: Original wrap-around red morocco, richly gilt on back cover with a Virgin and on front one with a foliate design on a finely ruled background, spine gilt and with title; leather of rear cover extends across fore-edge onto front cover and is attached there with a tongue slipped into a strap (wallet style). All edges gilt.
Provenance: Gift inscription “Laura, from C. & S. M., June 7, 1869.”
Searches of NUC, WorldCat, COPAC, CCPBE, KVK, and the OPAC of the Spanish National Library
fail to find another copy.
Welsh, Miniature Books, 4378 for a work of same title, different place of publication, and approximately same number of pages, but with no mention of plates. Light wear to binding, gilt of rear cover faded; the tongue of the binding is rubbed under its strap and may be missing a small piece at the end. Interior clean and fresh; over all very good. (35616)

An Acclaimed “Elizabethan” Pickering Production
Church of England. Book of Common Prayer. The book of common prayer and administration of the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the church according to the use of the United Church of England and Ireland together with the psalter or psalms of David pointed as they are to be sung or said in churches. London: William Pickering, 1853. 12mo (18.4 cm, 7.25"). [720] pp.; illus.
$450.00
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Accessible, beautiful Pickering edition of the BCP, inspired by the 1569 edition of A Book of Christian Prayers, a.k.a. “Queen Elizabeth's Prayer Book.” Mary Byfield engraved this version of the frontispiece portrait of Queen Elizabeth, as well as the woodcut borders, done after designs by Dürer, Holbein, and others; Kelly notes that
this volume is considered Byfield's masterpiece. The printing was elegantly accomplished by Charles Whittingham, predominantly in a clear and legible yet historic-feeling roman with blackletter captions in the borders.
Binding: Publisher's red morocco, covers with ornate blind-stamped frame, front cover with gilt-stamped decorative title, spine with gilt-stamped title and blind-tooled compartment decorations, board edges with gilt roll, turn-ins with blind roll. All edges gilt and gauffered. Front free endpaper stamped “Bound by J. Wright.”
Provenance: Front pastedown with bookplate of John Turner Ettlinger. Later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, 1853:22; Kelly, Checklist of Books Published by William Pickering, 1853.8; Keynes, William Pickering (rev. ed.), pp. 32 & 86. Bound as above; spine slightly darkened, rubbing to joints and edges nicely refurbished. Bookplate as above, front free endpaper with Ettlinger's pencilled inscription. Pages very faintly age-toned, otherwise clean.
A solid, satisfactory copy of this attractive and important edition. (40309)

Pickering BCP Facsimile — Elizabethan-Inspired Splendor
Church of England. Book of Common Prayer. The book of common prayer: Commonly called the first book of Queen Elizabeth, printed by Grafton 1559. London: William Pickering (pr. by Charles Whittingham), 1844. Folio (35.1 cm, 13.8"). [34] pp., 109, 14 ff.
[SOLD]
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Pickering's beautiful type facsimile of Richard Grafton's 1559 edition — the Elizabethan prayer book — here in a Rivière binding. Charles Whittingham printed the work on handmade paper in black-letter type for Pickering, who, inspired by the printing of Aldus Manutius, published in 1844 a series of six such facsimiles of important editions of the Book of Common Prayer, each of which was illustrated with
wood-engraved initials and ornaments done by Mary Byfield, and limited to
only 350 copies printed on paper (with another two on vellum). The original title-pages were reproduced for each in
red 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 was an 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.”
Binding: Signed 19th-century dark brown morocco framed and panelled in single gilt and double blind fillets with gilt-tooled corner fleurons, surrounding a central arabesque medallion; spine with raised bands, gilt-stamped fleur-de-lis decorations in compartments, and gilt-stamped publication information. All edges gilt. Front turn-in stamped by Rivière.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, 1844:28; Kelly, Checklist of Books Published by William Pickering, 1844.3; Keynes, William Pickering (rev. ed.), p. 85; McLean, Victorian Book Design, 13; Pickering & Chatto, William Pickering (catalogue 708), 222. Bound as above, joints and edges rubbed. A handful of leaves with moderate foxing, pages otherwise clean.
A very satisfactory copy. (39591)

Pickering BCP Facsimile — Large & Lavish
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.
$950.00
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Pickering's beautiful type facsimile of Robert Barker's 1604 edition — a.k.a. the Hampton Court Book — here in a Rivière binding. Charles Whittingham printed the work on handmade paper in black-letter type for Pickering, who, inspired by the printing of Aldus Manutius, published in 1844 a series of six such facsimiles of important editions of the Book of Common Prayer, each of which was
illustrated with wood-engraved initials and ornaments done by Mary Byfield, and limited to
only 350 copies printed on paper (with another two on vellum). The original title-pages were reproduced for each in
red 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 was
an 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.”
Binding: Signed 19th-century dark brown morocco framed and panelled in single gilt and double blind fillets with gilt-tooled corner fleurons, surrounding a central arabesque medallion; spine with raised bands, gilt-stamped fleur-de-lis decorations in compartments, and gilt-stamped publication information. All edges gilt. Front lower turn-in stamped by Rivière.
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)
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German-American Hymnal in
Typical FRAKTUR Style
Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and the Adjacent States. Erbauliche Lieder-Sammlung zum Gottesdienstlichen Gebrauch in den vereinigten Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinen in Pennsylvanien und den benachbarten Staaten. Philadelphia: G. & D. Billmeyer, 1814. 12mo (17.2 cm, 7"). [12] ff., 626 pp., [5] ff. [bound with] Helmuth, Justus Henry Christian. Kurze Andachten einer Gottsuchenden Seele, auf alle Tage der Woche und andere Umstände eingerichtet. Philadelphia: G. & D. Billmeyer, 1814. 12mo (17.2 cm, 7"). 26 pp.
[SOLD]
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German Lutheran hymnal (without the music) for use in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. This 1814 Billmeyer edition is printed in two columns in fraktur type; it contains the texts of the hymns only, no music. This work was first published in 1786, with a number of subsequent editions. Helmuth's Kurze Andachten, a short collection of morning, evening, and other occasional prayers, was issued with this edition of the hymnal and is usually, as here, bound in at the end.
The full-page woodcut frontispiece of Luther in his study is signed “ F. Reiche. fe[cit].”
Hymnal: Shaw & Shoemaker 31426; Arndt & Eck, The First Century of German Language Printing in the United States of America, 2032. Kurze Andachten: Shaw & Shoemaker 31686; Arndt, The First Century of German Language Printing in the United States of America, 2034. Contemporary sheep over wooden boards with working brass clasps,spine with raised bands; scattered abrasions. Some pages dog-eared, with spots of browning and overall age-toning throughout as usual in German imprints of this period. (35160)

A “Little Manual . . . FIRST Designed for PRIVATE Use” of TWO PRINCESSES
Lake, 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.
$775.00
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The last of four editions
PRINTED IN IRELAND, all of which are rare and
none 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 Significant
American 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.
$2500.00
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This Siddur in Hebrew and English was
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)

A Tiny Gem — Printed by the Plantin Press (L.A.) — A Mary Kuper Wood Engraving
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Prayers written at Vailima. Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, 1973. Miniature (6.2 cm, 2.4"). xxxviii, [2], 61, [1] pp.
$125.00
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Miniature edition of the daily prayers Stevenson wrote
for the use of his family and their Samoan household members, with an introduction by Fanny Stevenson and a preliminary note by Ellen Shaffer (one-time head of the rare book department of the Free Library of Philadelphia and later the first curator of the Silverado Museum in St. Helena, CA).
This is
one of 500 copies printed by Saul and Lillian Marks at the Plantin Press in Los Angeles; Mary Kuper did the wood engraving of a Samoan scene.
Provenance: Miniature bookplate of Raymond A. Smith to front pastedown.
Publisher's orange paper–covered boards with tan paper shelfback, front cover with red-stamped cruciform motif, spine with title in red. A clean and fresh copy. (35704)

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