Église Catholique - Missel de Paris, Latin-François - Rare Ensemble Complet en 8 Volumes - Reliure de Luxe en Plein - 1741

Rare and splendid complete series in 8 volumes of the famous "Missel de Paris" (Latin-French bilingual), printed in 1741 under the reign of Louis XV, according to the liturgical reform (neo-Gallican) ordered by Monsignor de Vintimille, Archbishop of Paris. The work comprises the entire sequence of the liturgical year’s texts, linearly divided from the 'Première Partie' to the 'Huitième Partie' (one physical volume for each part of the text).

Features of Value and Binding:
• Exterior of great luxury: Period binding in full brown Morocco leather (avanao/tobacco). Back with 5 richly ornamented nerves, compartments and golden floral borders, plaques with titles and legible volume numbers. The boards are framed by a double gold fillet with delicate gilded angular floral/lily motifs.
• Silk endpapers: Rims and flyleaves splendidly covered with original pink moiré silk from the era, framed by an elegant and rich gold-ruled lace on the leather inside.
• Gilded edges: All three edges of each volume (top, fore-edge, bottom) are wholly gilded with genuine gold leaf, maintaining extraordinary brightness and rigidity when the book is closed.

Detailed Condition:
• Exterior (Excellent condition): The bindings are in excellent external condition. The leather of the period has retained its elasticity, its splendid natural sheen, and the original patina. The headbands, joints, and corners are particularly well preserved for volumes of almost three centuries, showing exemplary structural solidity.
• Interior (Good overall condition with signs of use): The text body on rag paper is generally fresh, with a clear impression and very legible ink. As is normal for a liturgical text intended for devotion and consulted over time, there are some scattered foxing and small usage stains. More specifically, volumes 6 and 7 show a few small isolated halos more visible on the margins of certain pages. These minimal alterations do not in any way compromise the paper’s solidity or the legibility of the bilingual text, and attest to the authentic historical journey of the work.

An exceptionally impactful collectible, absolutely complete with all original volumes.