Various Authors - Canon Missae - 1755

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BELLA LEGATURA COEVA IN TUTTA PELLE (MAROCCHINO O VITELLO) IMPRESSA IN ORO CON RICCHE DECORAZIONI: CORNICE ESTERNA A FILETTO E ROTELLA, FREGI ANGOLARI (FLEURONS) AI QUATTRO CANTI INTERNI E STEMMA ARALDICO ECCLESIASTICO AL CENTRO (DI PRELATO O DIGNITARIO, CON DUE NAPPE PENDENTI PER LATO).

Quindici grandi incisioni calcografiche a piena pagina, alcune firmate. Visibili, fra le altre, scene della Natività, Adorazione dei Magi, Passione, Crocifissione, Resurrezione, Ascensione.
Bellissimo esemplare del Canon Missae ad usum Episcoporum, ac Praelatorum, stampato a Venezia dalla celebre Tipografia Balleoniana nel 1755, sontuosamente illustrato e conservato in una preziosa legatura settecentesca alle armi. Un libro concepito non per la semplice devozione privata, ma per la celebrazione solenne della Messa da parte di vescovi e prelati: testo liturgico, musica, immagini e legatura concorrono a trasformarlo in un vero oggetto di rappresentanza ecclesiastica. L’elemento di maggiore fascino antiquario è proprio la legatura: piena pelle con ricca decorazione impressa in oro, cornici concentriche, fregi vegetali e grande stemma ecclesiastico dorato al centro dei piatti, sormontato dal galero con cordoni e nappe. Una veste esterna che colloca il volume nell’ambito delle prestigiose legature di committenza prelatizia. All’interno, spettacolare stampa in rosso e nero, notazione musicale quadrata su tetragrammi rossi e una successione di grandi incisioni a piena pagina dedicate ai principali episodi della vita di Cristo e al mistero della Messa. Un volume nel quale liturgia, musica, arte dell’incisione e storia della legatura si incontrano con eccezionale efficacia scenografica.

WHY TO BUY
• LEGATURA ALLE ARMI – Beautiful contemporaneous binding in brown leather, with a large golden ecclesiastical coat of arms on the boards (two tassels hanging on each side, thus referring to a cleric, vicar or abbot).
• 15 GRANDI INCISIONI – Important full-page iconographic cycle dedicated to Christ and the liturgy of the Mass.
• MUSICA LITURGICA – Magnificent black-square Gregorian notation printed on red tetragrams.
• LIBRO DI RAPPRESENTANZA – A volume intended for the solemn use of bishops and prelates, where content and binding testify to rank and prestige.

MARKET VALUE
200 - 400 euro

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Large eighteenth-century liturgical volume in full contemporaneous brown leather. Boards decorated in gold with multiple filet and rosette frames, large angular friezes and central ecclesiastical coat of arms topped by a galero, cords and tassels; spine divided with gold-ornamented compartments. Gilded edges. Marbled endpapers. A binding of notable presence, with abrasions, scratches, small superficial losses, wear to corners and to the ends of the spine, but overall intact and highly striking. Interior printed in red and black with large liturgical characters; numerous sections of Gregorian chant with black square notation on red tetragrams. Fifteen large full-page copperplate engravings, some signed or attributable to the engravers of the publishing apparatus. Visible, among others, scenes of the Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension and allegorical-liturgical subjects. Pages generally fresh with wide margins, with occasional stains, light foxing, folds and typical signs of use. In old books, with a centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. 10nn; 140; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Canon Missae ad usum Episcoporum, ac Praelatorum solemniter, vel privatè celebrantium. Venetiis, Ex Typographia Balleoniana, Anno MDCCLV [1755].

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Canon Missae forms the heart of the Eucharistic celebration in the Roman rite. Editions of this type were specifically prepared for use at the altar and, as explicitly stated on the title page, this version was intended for bishops and prelates who celebrated solemnly or privately. The large character size, the two-color printing and the very clear page layout all serve a concrete function: to enable reading during the rite. The presence of music also makes the volume an important testimony to eighteenth-century liturgical-musical practice. Rubrics, texts and red tetragrams dialogue with black type and notes, producing pages of notable graphic impact. The iconographic apparatus elevates the book beyond a mere practical tool. The large copperplate plates mark the liturgical journey through images of Christ’s life, Passion and glorification, making the volume a monumental synthesis of word, music and image.

THE ARMORIAL BINDING
The binding is likely the most important antiquarian element of the copy. The volume is not simply a decorative cover but a true binding of ecclesiastical representation. At the center of the boards is a gold-pressed coat of arms, topped by the distinctive ecclesiastical hat with cords and tassels, set within a complex ornamental architectural frame of borders, friezes and angular motifs. Such bindings had a precise function: to visually declare the rank and identity of the owner. The book thus became simultaneously liturgical instrument, personal object and symbol of ecclesiastical authority. The presence of the coat of arms makes this copy essentially unique compared to ordinary editorial copies of the same Canon Missae. Exact araldic identification must be verified before definitively attributing the binding to a specific prelate; this provenance research is one of the most fascinating aspects of the piece.

ICONOGRAPHY
The illustrative apparatus is particularly rich. Large copperplate engravings often occupy an entire page and accompany the key moments of the rite. Episodes of the Nativity and Adoration, the ascent to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the Ascension are recognizable, as well as allegorical and trinitarian compositions. The sequence of images is not mere decoration, but builds a visual path parallel to the liturgical text. The contrast between the monochrome engravings and the opposite pages printed in red and black with large characters and musical notation is especially dramatic.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The volume was printed in Venice in 1755 by the Tipografia Balleoniana, one of the most important Venetian editorial dynasties specializing in religious and liturgical production. In the eighteenth century, Venice remained one of Europe’s major centers for producing books for the clergy and the international Catholic market. Luxury liturgical editions required substantial investments: large-format paper, two-color printing, special music types, matrices for notation and costly copper-plate apparatus. This copy preserves in a particularly evident way the ceremonial, high-level character of the book.

PROVENANCE AND HERALDRY
The golden coat of arms on the boards provides a fundamental clue for reconstructing the book’s history. The presence of the galero and tassels unmistakably confirms the ecclesiastical nature of the heraldry, while the shield’s design should allow, through specific heraldic comparison, identification of the family and the owner’s rank.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Canon Missae ad usum Episcoporum, ac Praelatorum solemniter, vel privatè celebrantium, Venezia, Tipografia Balleoniana, 1755. Repertori della stampa liturgica veneziana del XVIII secolo. Bibliografie della Tipografia Balleoniana. Repertori di legature italiane alle armi e di araldica ecclesiastica. Studi sul libro liturgico e sulla stampa musicale settecentesca. Repertori dell’incisione religiosa veneziana del XVIII secolo.