BOOK OF HOURS (1860)

We are offering here an exquisite French Christian Catholic devotional book "Selected Hours of Christian Ladies". Superb illuminations in chromolithography inspired by medieval "Book of Hours". Letters, decorations and miniatures copied in ancient manuscripts.

Bound in a beautiful Morocco leather binding with gilt Coat-of-Arm Christogram "IHS" to the both boards and gilt ornamental decorations to the boards and spine. Richly decorated front and rear paste-down with gilt fleurons and bordeaux Moirée silk. Free endpapers also accompanied by bordeaux Moirée silk. With chromolithographic frontispiece & 5 full-page chromolithographic engravings in Color & Gilt. All 208 text pages richly illustrated and illuminated by A. Leroy with a different chromolithographic frame in Color & Gilt for each page and several chapter headers. The text is framed with many different decorations: foliage, flowers, birds, dragons, insects, etc. All pages are entirely mounted on tab.

"Heures Choisies des Dames Chretiennes. Tire des manuscrits du XIIe au XVIIe siecle provenant du cabinet de Mr. H. Baudot, à Dijon."; Brown Morocco leather binding. Gilt Coat of Arm Christogram "IHS" to both boards. Gilt ornamental decorations to the boards and spine, gilt title to the spine. Spine with five raised bands. All page edges gilt.; Text in French; Collation complete – Chromolithographic title page, Engraved chromolithographic title, Chromolithographic frontispiece, 208 chromolithographic pages, with 5 chromolithographic plates; Full leather binding is strong, tight and firm, overall well preserved. Boards and spine little rubbed and bumped, with a few negligible surface scratches/scuffings. Short incipient surface cracking (1,5 - 2 cm) to the lower joint of the front board and upper joint of the rear board. Pages/Text block in excellent condition, clean and very bright, no any marks or foxing throughout, only with a slight yellowing to the white margins of a few pages.

IMPORTANT information regarding shipping: Shipping to South Africa possible via national post ($40) or Fedex/DHL Express service ($80-100). Shipping to EU & UK via national post registered Airmail trackable parcel ($30-40). Shipping to US via USPS ($40). For other countries please ask.