Les Juntas/Giunta - Psalterium Romanum - 1572

[LITURGY - JUNTAS EDITION]
Psalterium Romanum together with a hymnary arranged by the week. According to the order of the reform Breviary, by Decree of the Sacred and Great Council of Trent.
Venice, At the Juntas [Les Giunta], 1572.

One volume in 16mo format [12pp.;252pp.] bound in full dark morocco (black?) of the period, boards blind-stamped with geometric motifs and a portrait of the Virgin, and with roulette-ornament frames, spine with raised bands (wear and notable losses at the headcaps and corners). Interior with ink stains, marginal damp-stains and browning, but preserving superb wood engravings with a fresh impression and excellent clarity of its red and black inks.

Title page printed in red and black with the famous border and the typographic mark with the lily of the prestigious Venetian printing family of the Juntas (Giunta).

The work is printed in red and black on two columns in Gothic type (blackletter), adorned with a full-page wood engraving (notably King David in prayer) and numerous historiated or ornamented initials engraved on wood.

Printed in Venice in 1572 by the famous presses of the Juntas, this Roman Psalter is directly part of the great liturgical reform movement inspired by the Council of Trent. It contains the complete set of psalms, hymns, antiphons and verses arranged for each day of the week according to the Breviary reformed by Pope Pius V.

These pocket-sized liturgical books were designed for the daily and diligent use of clergy and members of religious orders.

The copy presents precious ancient manuscript testimony on the guards and preliminary pages, including a dated or signed French inscription alluding to the transmission of this prayer book (« Alphonse Bos gives... Henry Pougnier... for going to Mass »).

The Venetian editions of the Juntas in the 16th century constituted the pinnacle of liturgical typographic art. This psalter was not intended to remain quietly on a church lectern, but to accompany its owner on the road, slipped into a bag or a large pocket of a cassock.

Very rare copy.