French Catholic Devotional Set
A charming and unusually complete French Catholic devotional set, comprising a small leather-bound pocket missal, a matching decorated leather purse, and a fitted faux-crocodile presentation box. The ensemble is united by its coordinated ornamentation and materials, suggesting that the individual pieces were intentionally conceived as a complementary devotional set.
The Missal
The principal piece is a small-format French-language pocket missal, entitled Missel de la Charité Chrétienne (Missal of Christian Charity), published by Établissements Brepols S.A., Turnhout, Belgium, a historic Catholic printing house and publisher.
The missal is fully bound in leather, with an elegantly decorated front board featuring embossed ornament, gilt tooling and fine decorative embellishments. The spine is arranged with raised or indented bands and finished with gilt lettering, giving the volume the refined appearance characteristic of a carefully made devotional book. All edges gilt.
Inside are marbled endpapers together with a number of loose devotional illustrations. The book is illustrated throughout and features a particularly notable frontispiece depicting St Vincent de Paul returning from a walk through the streets of Paris in 1640. The scene recalls an important episode in the saint's life and his subsequent mission of charitable service, particularly his work on behalf of abandoned and disadvantaged children.
The missal remains in excellent condition, retaining a tight and sound binding with remarkably little wear to the interior. The leather exterior is likewise well preserved, with its decorative tooling and gilt work remaining attractive. There are some markings to the rear board, consistent with age and use, but these do not detract significantly from the overall appearance.
The Purse
Accompanying the missal is a small zip-fastening leather purse, decorated with gilt ornament corresponding closely to that found upon the book. The matching decoration strongly suggests that the purse was intended to accompany and complement the missal rather than being a later unrelated addition.
The combination of devotional book and purpose-made leather accessory creates an appealing glimpse into the way personal religious objects could be carried and preserved as part of everyday life.
Presentation Box & Design
The complete set is housed within a faux-crocodile skin presentation box, with the individual pieces enclosed within a softly cushioned satin and velvet-lined interior.
The decorative character of the ensemble is particularly suggestive of interwar taste, with Art Deco-influenced geometric ornament. The use of simulated exotic skins is also consistent with the period's enthusiasm for experimental and decorative materials, including their adoption within the bookbinding and leather-goods trades during the 1920s and 1930s.
Taken together, the missal, purse and presentation box form a highly decorative and distinctly period ensemble, combining Catholic devotional material with finely ornamented leather accessories.
This charming set would make an ideal addition to the collections of collectors of bespoke and decorative interwar bindings, Catholic devotional literature, and period leather goods, offering an appealing combination of religious text, fine bookbinding and coordinated accessories.
It is being sold for £50.
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