In good condition. Contemporary leather binding with minor flaws. Minor instances of scuffing to corners and edges with two age-stains at either end of clasp. Three small pen marks in black ink on left edge of front board. A small pen mark afflicts the top compartment of the spine. A few superficial scratches affect the surface of the leather. Clasp in working order, shuts nicely when tight. Marbled end papers are fresh and clean. Small patch of crushing at right edge of front fly leaf. End papers fresh. Seven leather musical tabs flank the fore-edge, some are crushed and stained. All edges gilt. Interior good with minor instances of foxing. Dampness staining permeates the text at the bottom edge, does not affect the aesthetic or text. Light age-stain. No instances of known marginalia. Binding is tight and intact. Complete. A sturdy, beautiful copy. Please see photos. 

A stunning Plantin Press Missale Romanum. “The Missale Romanum, with origins on the high Middle Ages, is the liturgical book from which the text and rubrics for the celebration of the Catholic Mass, with both prayers and music. One of the major advances of the Council of Trent, the Catholic counter to the Protestant Reformation, was to standardize the Missal. Pope Pius V, acting on the conciliar deciion, formalized this in his Quo Primum on 14 July 1570– insisting that the standard form of the Missal was used through the Church expect where a local missal could be proved to be of two centuries antiquity. Perhaps one of the most controversial Counter-Reformation decisions made at Trent, the use of the standard Missal prevented the celebration of the Mass in vernacular languages and signified a further strengthening of Papal authority: particularly as all printed editions were prefaced by the Pope’s order of standardization. The Missal was further edited by Clement VIII in 1604, and later by Urban VIII in 1643.”

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