[DCRM-L] German prayer book with no information

[dawn.grattino]

Please help! I have on my desk a small German book that contains prayers and/or hymns.


There is no Title page, no title, no publisher, no year. The only thing I have is the name Benjamin Schmolckens at the top of the verso of of each page of prayers. His AR is Schmolck, Benjamin, 1672-1737. He was Lutheran and wrote hymns and I think prayers.


It is in black letter and has 291 pages followed by a 5-page table of contents. None of the books I have found in OCLC or online with his name are even close to this pagination.


A colleague who actually knows German transcribed the top of the first page as follows:


Heiliges
Kirchen = Opfer.
Um
Heilige Vorbereitung.
Gottt Vater, Sohn und Geist verleih,
Daß mein Gebet erhörlich sey.
Hör Vater , und vertritt mich Sohn,
Geist des Gebetes gieb den Ton.

After this, it goes into a prayer "Gott Vater, mein Vater ..."


Above the text is an image (crude etching? wood block?) of a person (gender indeterminate, topless but the breast are not prominent enough to definitely say female, long hair, laurel wreath, radiance lines emanating from the head), sitting on the ground leaning against a low wall (?), between two trees, I think a palm tree and an olive tree, holding a lyre with a cadeucis laying on the ground.

I can't even figure out what size it is! 16 cm 8, 2-sided pages per gathering, I can't see any chain lines but the pages have the thin horizontal lines.


The book appears to have been rebound a long time ago, like at least 100 years. The pages with the text are foxed to a light brown. The endsheets are lighter, but also foxed. It is quarterbound with marbled paper and leather. The head bands are in very good shape and look handmade and old. The cords seem to be real, I can feel tiny knots under the endsheets.


Any help with identifying this item would be most appreciated!


Thanks,

Dawn Grattino
Senior Catalog Librarian
Cleveland Public Library
Catalog Dept.
17133 Lakeshore Blvd.
Cleveland, OH 44110
216-623-2885
fax 216-623-6980
dawn.grattino at cpl.org
http://www.cpl.org

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