LIVRE D'HEURES. ORDINAIRE DE LA MESSE. [WITH] CÉRÉMONIES DU MARIAGE. [AND] MESSE DE MARIAGE. [AND] ACTES ET PRIÈRES POUR LA COMMUNION

[Paris: Desgodets et Gérard, ca. 1913]. 175 x 130 mm. (6 7/8 x 5 1/8"). [68] leaves.
Attractive contemporary marbled calf, covers with double gilt fillet borders, central panels semé with rows of blind-stamped fleurs-de-lys, raised bands, spine panels with single blind-stamped fleur-de-lys at center, blind lettering to one panel, turn-ins with floral blind roll enclosed by plain and dotted gilt rules, green watered silk endleaves, front free endleaf stamped with gilt initials "G. G." and the date "7 AOUT 1913," all edges gilt. BEAUTIFULLY PAINTED AND ILLUMINATED THROUGHOUT: Many one- or two-line initials in colors and/or gold, a number of large initials measuring three or more lines, each with different decoration but usually painted in colors on gold ground or gold on painted ground, EACH TEXT PAGE WITH A THREE-QUARTER OR FULL BORDER in varying Medieval styles, each design different from the next, all very colorful and incorporating numerous gilt embellishments, several inhabited by figures, AND WITH THREE ORIGINAL FULL-PAGE PAINTED MINIATURES, depicting the Crucifixion, the Marriage of Mary and Joseph, the Madonna and Child enthroned. Marriage vows personalized for Geneviève Lauras and Edouard Gauthier. Title page inscribed in ink: "A ma chère et bien aimée fille Geneviève ["To my dear and well-loved daughter Geneviève"] / Labrousse de Lascaux Lauras / 7 Août [August] 1913." ◆A handful of negligible spots or smudges in the margins, but essentially A PRISTINE COPY with no signs of use.

While the words of the text here are printed, this prayer book has been painstakingly illuminated and painted by hand in vibrant colors, and was obviously treasured by the young bride who received it as a wedding gift. Active in Paris from the late 19th century, the publishing firm Desgodets & Gérard specialized in lithographic printing like the present book. The text of the volume (which reproduced a contemporaneous calligrapher's hand) was printed in black & white, with the decorative borders and miniatures unfilled. These could then be painted and illuminated, either as commissioned by the purchaser of the book or, perhaps less often, as the owner saw fit through his or her own skilled brushes. The level of skill shown here strongly suggests that a professional did the work. Whatever the case, each leaf here contains a different style of border--from delicate hairline vines and gilt ivy leaves, to trompe-l'oeil designs and marginalia--inspired by a wide variety of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. Each page has a distinct personality and presents an array of richly hued palettes and much gold and silver illumination, adding greatly to the book's appeal and the viewer's sense of discovery. According to the inscription on the first leaf, the book was intended for a young woman named Geneviève on the occasion of her marriage on 7 August 1913. Geneviève evidently came from the Labrousse de Lescaux and Lauras families, and took as her husband Edouard Gauthier (thus the "G. G." initials, for "Genevieve Gauthier" on the silk endleaf). While chromolithographed prayer books are encountered with some regularity, a volume such as this, which has been completely colored and illuminated by hand (let alone one so beautifully finished and presented), is understandably more difficult to come by..