119. LECLERCQ DOM HENRI, La vie chrétienne primitive.
Paris 1928, Les Editions Rieder, 87 pp. +LX plates.
Beautifully illustrated with 60 heliogravures, the original edition of a kind of guide to early Christian art and the lives of the religion's first followers. Author Dom Henri Leclercq (1869-1945) was a Franco-Belgian clergyman, Benedictine monk and specialist in early Christianity. Among other things, he published a monumental history of the martyrs in 15 volumes illustrating the roots and difficult beginnings of Christianity. The work was published in the Rieder publishing house's "Bibliotheèque Générale Illustrée " series describing the art of individual countries and nations. The book consists of two parts: the first is a treatise on the life of the first Christian communities, persecution, liturgy, apostolate, the birth of communes and dioceses, etc. The second part is 60 pp. charts with traces of early Christianity, both art and material traces.
Publisher's period binding, booklet in medium condition; spine and front cover with title; interior in bdb condition, still uncut folds; overall db condition.