{"product_id":"antique-french-catholic-missal-paroissien-romain-tours-edition-with-poetry","title":"Antique French Catholic Missal – Paroissien Romain (Tours Edition) with Poetry","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdditional Description:\u003cbr\u003eA beautifully preserved miniature French Catholic missal titled Paroissien Romain, bound in rich brown leather with delicate gilt ruling to the covers and spine. The compact devotional volume features a classic 19th-century French binding style, including rounded spine, gilt titling, and hand-gilded page edges that have developed a warm, luminous patina over time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe interior reveals a finely printed liturgical text in both Latin and French, accompanied by detailed engraved religious illustrations, including a striking frontispiece of Christ and a devotional image of the Holy Family. The title page indicates publication in Tours by Alfred Mame et Fils—one of the most prominent Catholic publishers of the 19th century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat elevates this example is the extensive handwritten content throughout: period ink inscriptions, devotional poetry, and personal reflections fill several pages, transforming the book into a deeply intimate object. These layered annotations—likely added by multiple hands—offer a rare glimpse into lived religious practice and personal sentiment in the late 19th century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst Page Inscription (Rough Translation): \"C.P.L.C\u003cbr\u003eDove\u003cbr\u003eshe loves, she prays, she suffers but she stays calm. My God makes her happy!!!!.......\u003cbr\u003eBut who? A.L.\u003cbr\u003eConstancy in the chimera of love\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSecond Page Inscription (Rough Translation): What is love....\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo love is to bend the world in a single line \u003cbr\u003eTo love is to be proud to have a master \u003cbr\u003eTo love is to lift in one's heart an old \u003cbr\u003eIt is to live there at the edge of an eternal spring \u003cbr\u003eTo love is to immolate oneself every day to everything \u003cbr\u003eTo love is to become drunk on the tears one cries \u003cbr\u003eTo love is to deviate without forming sudden impulses \u003cbr\u003eTo love is to suffer everything without ever complaining \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAsk everyone who breathes \u003cbr\u003eThe hardest one to nourish \u003cbr\u003eIt will animate itself to tell you \u003cbr\u003eThe sweetest word is Love \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFriendship is compared to a drop of water; when it falls on marble, it freezes\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThird Page Inscription (Rough Translation): The scent that must reach my nose is that of butter\u003cbr\u003eIn a household, grammar does not teach happiness\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePage 206 Inscription (Rough Translation): Love is a white basket\u003cbr\u003eWhere always one finds a flower\u003cbr\u003eIt is a song for our heart\u003cbr\u003eIt is a sound for our ear\u003cbr\u003eFollow this double mystery\u003cbr\u003eYou will see the double flower of honey\u003cbr\u003eLove is the flower of the earth\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePage 348 Inscription (Rough Translation): If my heart had wings\u003cbr\u003eIt would enroll towards us\u003cbr\u003eHeart it is faithful to us\u003cbr\u003eNear us it comes back\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne does not die of love\u003cbr\u003eBut one becomes withered from it\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe heart is a pendulum between\u003cbr\u003ea tear and a kiss\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnly it counts to be\u003cbr\u003esensitive to friendship but those\u003cbr\u003ewho have this sensitivity are more likely\u003cbr\u003eto suffer than to be insensitive\u003cbr\u003eIt would be desirable that all good friends get along together to die the same day\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePage 452 Inscription (Rought Translation): Allegretti you fussy the his heart \u003cbr\u003eStrongly my light break \u003cbr\u003eThe good a volume my dreams \u003cbr\u003eyes night my dream of my fear \u003cbr\u003ea hin hidden my of us\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLast Page Inscription (Rough Translation): \"Love, you can swear; love is greedy, to say the least, the impossible to satisfy itself, and to please its dear object. Love, but for friendship there is nothing???\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEra: Late 19th century (dated 1872)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHistory:\u003cbr\u003eThe Paroissien Romain was a standard Catholic prayer and service book used widely across France in the 19th century. Published by Alfred Mame et Fils in Tours, these editions were known for their quality printing and accessibility to lay worshippers. Such books were often carried to Mass and used for daily devotion, commonly gifted for milestones such as First Communion or Confirmation. Personalized inscriptions and marginalia, as seen here, reflect their role as both spiritual guides and treasured personal keepsakes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProvenance:\u003cbr\u003eFrance; published in Tours by Alfred Mame et Fils (1872). Contains numerous handwritten inscriptions and annotations in French, likely from original owner(s), adding a strong element of personal devotional history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaterials:\u003cbr\u003eLeather binding, gilt page edges, paper, ink, engraved illustrations\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDimensions:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDisclaimers:\u003cbr\u003eNoticeable wear to leather binding including rubbing, edge wear, and small losses at spine; interior pages show toning, foxing, and ink marks; handwritten inscriptions throughout; binding remains intact and functional.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"For the Louvre of Antiques LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49022394925311,"sku":null,"price":165.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0725\/8780\/4927\/files\/7C1D2421-260A-4701-9BB0-C80D7B8FB3F1.png?v=1786895147","url":"https:\/\/forthelouvreofantiques.com\/fr\/products\/antique-french-catholic-missal-paroissien-romain-tours-edition-with-poetry","provider":"For the Louvre of Antiques LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}