A RARE OLD SLAVONIC RELIGIOUS MANUAL. 



(Plate V.) 



By J. DYNELEY PRINCE, Ph.D. 



(Read April 13, 1916.) 



In the library of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan in New York City is 

 a very rare old Slavonic Roman Catholic prayer-book, printed in 

 Glagolitic characters in the so-called Croatian variant of the Church 

 Slavonic language. The work bears the Latin title at the end of the 

 text: Alphabeticum ct Prcces Illyricae, impr. Ven. per Andream de 

 Torresanis de Asida, 1527, followed by the Slavonic title: stainpani 

 V* Byiietcich po Andrei Toresani is Asuly, " printed in Venice by 

 Andreas de Torresanis de Asula," which words are followed by the 

 date, 1527, indicated in Glagolitic characters. On the front fly-leaf 

 are written the words: c libris Evelyn, Venetiis, 1645. This un- 

 doubtedly is John Evelyn, the well-known English virtuoso, who 

 visited Venice in 1645, ^^i^ evidently purchased this book there (cf. 

 National Biographical Dictionary, p. 79). According to Bishop 

 Butler (Renouard, Totn. II., p. 276), this work was unique in his 

 time ( 1 774-1839) and a collated and perfect copy. The first 

 allusion of recent date to this edition of A. de Torresanis de Asula 

 seems to have been made by Dobrovsky in his correspondence with 

 Kopitar, published by Ritter Vatroslav von Jagic. It is interesting 

 to note that A. de Torresanis was also the printer of the first book 

 in Serb proper ("The Hours") in Venice, 1493. 



This Morgan edition of the Croatian prayer-book is the only one 

 which can be placed at the present time, although there must be 

 several copies in existence in European libraries. The book con- 

 sists of seven clearly printed pages in excellent preservation and 

 contains many woodcuts. On the front binding are two portraits ; 

 on the left, of a crowned queen, with the Italian legend : scetri e 



* See below on the notation. 



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