AA.VV. - Missale Romanum - 1833

GRAND BINDING CO-EVAL WITH INTACT CORNERS AND BOSSING
Impressive Venetian cappuccino Missal of the early eighteenth century, conceived for the daily liturgical use of the Friars Minor Capuchin and the nuns of the same Order. The volume combines ritual rigor post-Tridentine, musical apparatus with square notation on a tetragram, and a rich cycle of engravings, following a high-quality Venetian editorial tradition in typography and imagery. An exemplar intended for real and prolonged use, as testified by its structure, reinforced binding, and layout of the text.
MARKET VALUE
In the European antique market, eighteenth-century Venetian Capuchin Missals with full figurative apparatus and original binding with bosses generally range between 500 and 700 euros, with higher values for particularly fresh copies or with documented convent provenance. The presence of full-page engravings and musical notation significantly affects the appraisal.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary dark leather binding, decorated in gold on the covers with a continuous frame, gilded spine with title, corner and central brass bosses. Pages with musical notation in red and black on tetragram, liturgical text in Roman type. Engraved frontispiece and numerous full-page engravings of sacred subjects (Resurrection, Annunciation, Nativity, Christological scenes). Some abrasions and flaking, pages browned, foxing, some stains and small defects. In ancient books with a multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 36; 440; 64; 20nn; 44; 2nn; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Missale Romanum ad usum Fratrum Minorum Sancti Francisci Capuccinorum et Monialium eiusdem Ordinis.
Venetiis, apud Haeredes Balleonios, 1833.
AA.VV.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Missal fully reflects Capuchin spirituality, imbued with Francisan sobriety yet sustained by a solid liturgical and musical tradition. The systematic inclusion of Gregorian chant, with ample space given to the penitential seasons of the liturgical year and to the saints of the Order, confirms the volume’s practical function as a daily tool of worship. The iconographic apparatus, of late Baroque Venetian taste, serves a catechetical and meditative purpose, integrating word, music, and image in a single ritual object.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed in Venice by the Balleoni heirs, printers active in producing large-format liturgical books, the volume fits into a long series of editions specifically intended for religious orders. These missals were produced in limited editions for Capuchin convents and churches, and subject to intense liturgical use, a factor that makes complete and well-preserved copies less common today.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / OPAC SBN, repertories of eighteenth-century Venetian missals.
B. Neunheuser, History of the Roman liturgy, Rome.
Catalogs of Venetian liturgical publishing of the eighteenth century (Balleoni).
Studies on Capuchin liturgical iconography and post-Tridentine Gregorian chant.