Description
Offered is a rare and historically significant 1770 French Catholic liturgical book titled Office de la Quinzaine de Pasque, printed in Latin in Poitiers by J. Félix Faulcon, official printer to the Bishop and Clergy. Commissioned by ecclesiastical authority and published avec privilège du Roi, this volume was printed across from the historic Notre-Dame la Grande church in Poitiers.
The book contains the complete liturgy for Holy Week and the Easter Octave, extracted from the Missal and Breviary of the Diocese of Poitiers. It includes an “Avertissement” (prefatory notice) with a small stamped “DI” mark, likely indicating ecclesiastical approval. At the end of the 423 numbered pages is a formal “Privilège du Roi” section, signifying royal licensing prior to the French Revolution.
Bound in original full leather, the book remains complete and structurally sound. The boards are fully attached, the spine is tight, and the joints are solid. There is minor leather loss to the spine ends and very minimal foxing throughout. A handwritten ownership inscription on the inside front board reads “Audiger 1837,” providing early provenance.
This edition, printed nearly 20 years before the Revolution, represents a rare survival of diocesan-specific liturgy under both Church and royal authority. A remarkable find for collectors of Catholic missals, French ecclesiastical history, or 18th-century devotional books.
