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Fabiola, or, the Church of the Catacombs (page 1/3)

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[picture: Front Cover, Fabiola]

Pictures from the novel Fabiola, or the Church of the Catacombs by Cardinal Nicholas Patrick Wiseman (1802 – 1865), translated into French by M. Richard Viot, and published in Tours in 1887 by Alfred Mame et Fils. It’s a story set in Rome in the 4th Century after Christ. The Chrisitans behave so well and are so full of love that the others around them are converted; clearly not a modern tale.

Illustrations are by Joseph Blanc (1846 – 1904)

The book is bound in red cloth with gold on the cover.

I found a copy of Cardinal Wiseman’s Fabiola online at a page of history-inspired French novels.

I bought my copy at a small bookshop near the opera, in Paris, no more than twenty minutes’ walk from the Bastille Monument, probably Librairie la Sirène.

Title: Fabiola, or, the Church of the Catacombs

Author: Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick, Cardinal

Translated by: Viot, M. Richard

Published by: Alfred Mame et Fils

City: Tours

Date: 1887

Total items: 14

Out of copyright (called public domain in the USA), hence royalty-free for all purposes usage credit requested, or as marked.

Some sample images

[picture: Watching, Waving Man]

Watching, Waving Man

A man, barefoot and bare-legged, stands with one hand outstretched, facing away from the viewer. This would be suitable as a border image on one side of a poster, perhaps (you could flip the [...] [more...] [$]

[picture: Decorative initial letter ``D'' with lady and saint and birds]

Decorative initial letter “D” with lady and saint and birds

This “vignetted” initial capital letter “D” was used as a drop cap at the start of a chapter. The capital D is framed inside a stylized frond or creeper vine emanating from a vase with fruit on it; behind (to the left of) the D stands a person with a halo (itself giving off fronds) and wearing ornate robes and a crown. I am guesing that this is intended to represent Saint Louis IV of France [more...] [$]

[picture: Initial letter Q: monk with pick-axe]

Initial letter Q: monk with pick-axe

The letter “Q” surmounted by a bird (a stork?) and with flowers all around, contains a man carrying a pickaxe and wearing a monk’s or cleric’s robe marked with the sign of the [more...] [$]

[picture: Mediaeval Torture Instruments]

Mediaeval Torture Instruments

These six torture implements were captioned instruments of torture employed against the Christians, but they are not actually mentioned in the text. [more...] [$]

[picture: Fig. 41.---Un loculus ouvert. (A loculus, or Roman tomb, open.)]

Fig. 41.—Un loculus ouvert. (A loculus, or Roman tomb, open.)

The picture is showing a burial from the early Christian period, probably in Rome, in a catacomb. [more...] [$]


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