A Christmas Surprise

Upper cover of Missale Romanum (Mechlin, 1867)

An unexpected telephone call in early December led to the Christmas-week gift by Rev. George Zahn of a small group of rare books, most by or about the Venerable Bede, including one printed in Paris in 1545. Our Christmas cheer was doubly heightened, however, by the presence in the collection of a fine copy of the Rheims New Testament (1582), the first printing of the Bible for Catholics in English, and a sumptuous Canon missae pontificalis (Rome, 1745), in large folio with numerous engravings and decorations. The gift was made in memory of the donor's grandparents, Samuel and Nellie Evans, Washingtonians whose family burial plot is in Holyrood Cemetery in Georgetown.