Sursum Corda - Catholic Prayer and Hymn Book - Mechelen 1942 - WWII

Sursum Corda, a Belgian Catholic prayer and songbook published in Mechelen in 1942 for the Leagues of the Sacred Heart. This copy is the fourth, completely revised edition and was published during the Second World War.

The substantial little book combines prayers with Dutch and Latin hymns. In addition to daily prayers and texts for the Holy Mass, it contains, among other things, communion prayers, the Stations of the Cross, devotions to the Sacred Heart, Mary and Saint Joseph, and an extensive collection of hymns for the liturgical year. Several hymns are provided with musical notation.

The black binding features a blind-stamped depiction of organ pipes within a pointed arch and the title SURSUM CORDA in gold on the spine. The fully red-dyed edges are particularly beautiful, combined with decoratively printed endpapers.

The book was published by the Secretariat for the Leagues of the Sacred Heart in Mechelen. The music engraving was done by De Vleeschouwer in Evere-Brussels, and the printing and binding by Gebr. Werkhuizen Splichal N.V. in Turnhout. The ecclesiastical approval, the imprimatur, dates from December 8, 1941.

The interior has remained remarkably clean and fresh for its age. The binding shows signs of wear along the edges and corners. Important for the condition is that the complete text block has become detached from the cover. The text block itself is still intact and forms a single unit, but needs to be reattached to the original binding. This defect is clearly shown in the photos and has been taken into account in the price.

Specifications

• Title: Sursum Corda
• Full title: Sursum Corda – Prayer and songbook for the Leagues of the Sacred Heart
• Edition: fourth, completely revised edition
• Year: 1942
• Period: Second World War / 1940s
• Publisher: Secretariat for the Leagues of the Sacred Heart
• Place of publication: Mechelen, Belgium
• Imprimatur: Mechelen, December 8, 1941
• Printing and binding: Gebr. Werkhuizen Splichal N.V., Turnhout
• Music engraving: De Vleeschouwer, Evere-Brussels
• Language: Dutch and Latin
• Size: 527 pages
• Contents: Catholic prayers, liturgy and hymns
• Musical notation: present
• Binding: black binding with blind-stamped organ depiction
• Spine: gold-colored title printing
• Endpapers: decoratively printed
• Edges: fully red
• Dimensions: approx. 15.5 × 10 cm
• Thickness: approx. 2.5 cm
• Origin: Belgium
• Condition of interior: very neat and little used
• Condition of binding: signs of wear at edges and corners
• Binding condition: text block completely detached from the cover