The black leather bound prayer book measures at 6 inches x 4 inches with a thickness of 1.5 inches. The front of the book is a simple, dark black. Adorned with five fleur-de-lis running down the front side of the book, the book shows some wear and tarnish. To any onlooker this book would seem meaningless from the outside. However, engraved faintly on the jacket in grey ink reveals “Requeil Note du Manuel Paroissial” or Parish Missal. The leather book is rough on the outside with vertical lines running across the book revealing a tough texture.
By examining the book from the exterior, the pages are a bit auburn with traces of red. This prayer book was published in 1937, completely in French. The pages are worn in and seventy-eight later, are all in tact. The interior of the book is a flourishing mystery. This French prayer book belonged to my grandfather on my father’s side, Marguerite Renée Costes.
Marguerite grew up in a suburb of Paris called Gagny, and this book would have accompanied her almost everywhere as for church was extremely important to her.The prayer book was given to my grandmother as a gift for her First Communion that she received at the age of 12 or 13. I don’t know who gave her the prayer book, but I’m pretty sure, after talking to my dad, that it was a family member.
On the second page of the book, my grandmother signed her name in beautiful neat script “Madame Costes.” The ink reveals perfectly shaped letters, and an air of pride in singing her name: that my grandmother was extremely proud to own this book. I love examining her signature. She put a dash before and after her name, as to proclaim its proud presence.
My father always tells me how beautiful and disciplined my grandmother’s handwriting was. Although only a simple ink writing, my grandmother seems to come alive through her signature.
Inside the book reveals a mixture of hymns and prayers. Within the 636 pages are a plethora of music notes and illustrated images accompanying many of the hymns. When I came across the prayer book, it contained a bookmark that opened to page 436 and this page is so fascinating to me. The page opens up to a hymn entitled “Le ciel a visité la terre” (Heaven visited the Earth) by the French composer Charles Gounod. After some online research, I came across a YouTube recording of the song from the 1950s that you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dQIpFSTJZs .
I listened to this hymn on repeat as I wrote this blog post, I found it to be very beautiful. Alongside the hymnn lies an etching of an angel playing a guitar. An innocent and serene image, placed alongside a song about the sky and land gives off a very comforting feeling. The amount of detail and artistry that went into these various images throughout the book is striking. My grandmother was a trained concert pianist and I’m sure she played many of these songs at home for my father and his brother.
My grandmother held onto this book for her entire life. During the early 1940s, this prayer book accompanied her throughout her days attending Church. This book survived the Nazi occupation of Paris. My grandmother’s house was overtaken as a base for the gestapo during the Nazi occupation of Paris. My father told me that my grandmother had studied German in school, so when her family came home to discover their house was overtaken by the Nazis, my grandmother went to the Gestapo and demanded their house back in German.
Her courage and strength was monumental. And in the end, the Nazi’s gave my grandmother her home back. The fact that this prayer book accompanied my grandmother during this difficult time in her life reveals so much to me. This book must have provided my grandmother with hope and solace during those hard times, and I can’t imagine what she was going through. Music remained a steadfast passion and love for my grandmother throughout her life. This tiny little prayer book is an extension of that passion for music and song that my grandmother carried with her throughout her life.
By holding onto this book,I love to think about my grandmother’s life and her talents as a musician, mother, and individual.
The Materials of History, Thought, and Art 
Miriam, what a pleasure it was to read through your post whilst listening to “Le ciel a visité la terre”. The combination of listening to the hymn and the juxtaposition of the photographs alongside each paragraph provides the reader with quite a sentimental audiovisual experience. Also, the story pertaining to your grandmothers act of strength in approaching the Gestapo was incredible.
Hi Miriam! This was wonderful, thank you for sharing. I too listened to the hymn you provided while reading your post. I wonder if the bookmark had been there since your grandmother had last owned it, or if it had been moved by the next owner, or if it had fallen out and been placed at random–I’m so curious about that! I also wonder if this hymn corresponds with a special occasion or theme within the church calendar where it would be sung on a specific day. Or maybe your grandmother favored it among the hymns and prayer. I looked up the translation of the first two lines and roughly it translates to: “Heaven visited Earth, my beloved rests in me” –perhaps this sentiment and the rest of the lyrics resonated with your grandmother–or maybe she just enjoyed singing it or listening to it being played. This book and the placement of the book mark and the song itself–they’re all so intriguing to think about as separate entities and together as a whole object. Beautiful!