1877 Paroissien Romain | Dark Green Double Ornate Clasp

Paroissien Romain. Printed by Fonteney et Peltier, Paris, France. Published  1877. French Language.

Bound in dark green leather, this book has five raised bands along the spine; all page edges are gold-gilt; there are two silver-tone metal clasps with intricate designs and attachment plates with whimsical line work and swirling details, green and gold metallic endpapers, gold dentelle tooling along the interior turnins on the front and back covers, a hidden marble fore-edge painting, borderwork illustrations around all content, and engravings throughout.  

The page edges feature a hidden painting called a marbled fore-edge. 

After the book block was tightly clamped, the page edges were sanded, then fanned at an angle and clamped again. A master binder would then typically apply a solution to help the inks bond to the paper fibers, prepare a marbling vat with liquids and colors, stylize a pattern, dip the page edges, dry them, and finally gild them in gold. When the pages are pushed at an angle, the marbled edge reappears. It was a premium process reserved for luxury devotional or presentation books in the mid-19th century. 

95 mm W x 125 mm H. 543 pages.

Condition: Marks and discoloration to covers and spine; hinge corners are cracked; corners are rubbed; ink stain on cover page. Interior is quite clean. Good to Fair condition. 

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