St. Louis: B. Herder, 1898. Fourth Edition. 32mo. 3 x 4.5 in. 358 pp. 'Lauda Sion: A Collection of Catholic Prayers for Use in St. Liborius Church in St. Louis, Missouri'. Full black polished flexible calf, large decorative IHS monogram in gilt to upper cover, titled in gilt on spine, all edges gilt, with gilt dentelles. Illustrated with frontispiece engraving of The Last Supper by Carl Ferdinand Mayer, with tissue guard. Text in German, blackletter. Very good in original leather. Heavy wear to polished leather, which has become sueded. Ribbon markers detached. Hinges somewhat cracked, yet binding remains sound. Handsome 1908 ownership signature to preliminary blank, otherwise text is clean and unmarked.

This prayer-book was published about the time the St. Liborius Church was completed. A landmark German parish & beautiful Gothic Revival church designed by William Shickel, St. Liborius was eventually closed at the end of the 20th Century and fashioned into a private skatepark called 'Sk8 Liborius'. This is a handsome, well-loved German-American Catholic prayer-book from the earlier days of St. Louis, more intact than the parish church. A serviceable copy. Uncommon.

Price: $60.00