Home
Shopping cart (0 items € 0)
Go Back

Rare Arabic edition of the Euchologion: an exceptionally unusual example
of missionary colour printing by the Franciscan press in Jerusalem

[EUCHOLOGION - ARAB].
Kitâb al-Ifhûlûǧiyûn al-kabîr.
[Jerusalem], Dair al-Aba al-Fransiskaniyin, 1865. 4to. With an elaborately decorated title-page printed in black and 3 colours (red, green and blue) with a woodcut circled Jerusalem cross, decorations built up from typographic ornaments; and a woodcut Arabic inscription opening the main text. Set in nashk Arabic type in in red and black (the main text in 2 columns), each page in a frame with ornamental cornerpieces. Contemporary half black morocco, black cloth sides, marbled endpapers. [2], 320, [6] pp.
€ 8,500
Rare Arabic edition of the Euchologion, one of the most important books of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, containing the prayers, rituals, sacraments and other service elements for priests, deacons and bishops. It was intended primarily for Melchite Uniats (Christians of the Byzantine rite). It was printed by Franciscans in 1865, only thirty-five years after the establishment of the first printing press in Jerusalem, probably in the Monastery of St. Saviour in Jerusalem, where the Franciscan order opened one of the first printing offices in Jerusalem in 1847. This Franciscan printing office printed mainly in Arabic. The multi-coloured printed title-page was very exceptional for its time: colour-printing was then very unusual in Arabic. In fact the title-page decoration built up from typographic ornaments, with many single red ornaments between green ornaments, would be a challenge to any typesetter and pressman at any date. The present Kitâb al-Ifhûlûǧiyûn al-kabîr is very scarce. We traced only five copies in WorldCat.
With two (faded) library stamps. With some expert restorations to the binding, some occasional stains, some repairs in the margins of some leaves, but otherwise in good condition. WorldCat (5 copies); cf. Mohammed Basil Suleiman, "Early printing presses in Palestine: a historical note", in: Jerusalem quarterly, 36 (2009), pp. 79-91.
Order Inquire Terms of sale

Related Subjects:

Book history, education, learning & printing  >  Book History, Calligraphy & Printing | Greek & Non-Western Types
Middle east & islamic world  >  Arabic Printing & Calligraphy
Religion & devotion  >  Church History & Missions