Title:

1676 Antique Psalms of David – Owned by Carmelite Nun – Catholic Devotional Book – Bachelet Family of Beauvoisin – Salins-les-Bains – Antoine Besson Printing – Rare Lyon Imprint

Description:

This is a fascinating 1676 French Psalter (Le Psautier de David) printed in Lyon by Antoine Besson, once owned by Sister Rose Bachelet, a Carmelite nun from Salins-les-Bains in eastern France. This rare fifth edition translation of the Psalms of David includes brief notes from Saint Augustine and other Church Fathers, designed for weekly use with liturgical canticles.

The handwritten ownership inscription on the title page reads in part:

“Ce livre est à moi, sœur Rose Bachelet de Beauvoisin, sœur Carmelite de Salins”

(“This book belongs to me, Sister Rose Bachelet of Beauvoisin, Carmelite Sister of Salins”). The Bachelet family remains associated with wineries and viticulture in the Jura region near Salins-les-Bains.

The Carmelite Order, founded in the 12th century, is a contemplative Catholic religious order devoted to prayer, simplicity, and spiritual discipline. The Carmelites of Salins (located in Salins-les-Bains, a spa town in the Jura mountains), were active well before the French Revolution and had deep ties to the local community. Many young women from nearby towns, like Beauvoisin, took vows there during the 17th and 18th centuries.

This Psalter was printed in Lyon, one of the major centers of European printing from the Renaissance onward. By the 17th century, Lyon was home to dozens of presses, attracting scholars, clergy, and printers. Antoine Besson, the printer of this edition, operated a press on rue Tupin, near the historic “Logis de l’Empereur,” and published numerous religious texts with ecclesiastical permission and approval.

Condition:

This 349-year-old leather-bound volume measures approximately 7x5 inches and contains 493 pages plus 7 pages of index. The original leather binding features five raised bands with faded and cracked gilt decoration along the spine. The original title lettering remains faintly visible. The boards have a slight warp, with some scuffing to the leather and bumped corners consistent with age and use. The text block is complete with all pages present and remains securely bound. Paper shows typical toning and a few minor foxing marks but is clean and readable throughout.