It is a noble tradition that, in ages past, liturgical editions represented the height of craftsmanship and often marked the apex of the art of book production for their times. In continuity with this tradition, this first edition of a Rituale Romanum, according to the "1962 rubrics", marks a similar achievement in our time.
Many of its features, unique in liturgical publication today, will cause this Rituale Romanum to stand out as a liturgical book that indeed epitomizes the very best that can be produced in large quantities in our day. Together with our most important partners for the outer appearance of the Rituale - the printer and the bookbinder - we take pride in having overcome some major production difficulties.
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Bible paper; 40gm toned off-white paper
This ritual has been printed on a good quality off-white bible paper, 40 grams per square meter (40gsm). In contrast, regular copy paper is 80 gsm (or 21lb wt).
Today there are only two companies in Europe able to manufacture this kind of ultra thin paper at all. Worldwide there is only a handful of printers able to produce a bicolour printing with such fine paper, and still be able to fold and crease the sheets.
In its weight and color, this paper is of a similar quality to the paper generally used by liturgical publishers in the past. The volume contains 672 pages and is only 20 mm thick, and measures 975 pages per inch (390 pages / cm)!
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Cover and Measurements
For the cover we chose a fabric closely resembling leather. Its texture and pattern are similar to that of the leather we used for the Breviary, and the feel of the surface is like that of leather too. The volume is 11.4 cm wide and 17.8 cm high (comparable to the Breviary’s measurements), and it weighs 310 grams. Its size therefore resembles that of the great concise editions published by e.g. Pustet, so we could use the same type size we chose for the Breviary. So even under poor light conditions the texts are easily legible.
The spine carries blind embossing and embossed lettering in gold. Like with old liturgical handbooks the cover has been blind-tooled along the edges to produce a complete and harmonious appearance.
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The cover is flexible leather
As with the liturgical books of old the cover is flexible and when opened the volume rests comfortably in the hand, making its use easy for the priest.
Again we have taken great care in ensuring that after flipping the book open the volume will indeed stay open and will not fold up by itself. Using skilled techniques we have produced a new edition of the Rituale that need not fear competition of any old editions.
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Rounded corners, gold edging, ribbon markers
A "sine qua non" for liturgical books is rounded corners. This prevents wrinkling or creasing to the edges of the delicate bible paper. And of course, these volumes have gilt edging of the highest quality on all three sides.
Like old editions our new Rituale has two ribbon markers, each affixed at a different spot at the book’s head, one Burgundy (like the one in the Breviary) and the other gold.
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Slip Cover - Optional Feature
As an option we offer a slipcase specifically made for the new edition of our Rituale Romanum. Once the volume has been slipped into the case the gilt edging and the book’s corners and edges are protected.
For this cardboard slipcase we chose the same fabric we used for the Rituale’s cover. So the slipcase not only matches the volume in appearance, but it is also firm and water-repellent.
Two fingerholes were punched into the cardboard at the open side of the slipcase so that the reader can grip the spine of the book and take it out easily.
If you want to order both the Rituale and the slipcase please go to the ordering information page, and request this item in the “remarks” section. Unfortunately we are not able to supply any slipcases separately at a later stage.
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