Jan Zamoyski's Prayer Book

Jan Zamoyski's Prayer Book is a French printed prayer book from around 1485.[1][2]

Jan Zamoyski's Prayer Book is the only copy in the world of the first printed edition of the French book of hours.[1] The book was published around 1485 probably in the printshop of Jean du Pré in Paris.[1] Between the sixteenth and the twentieth century, the copy was held by the library of the Zamoyski family.[1] It is traditionally identified as the prayer book of Jan Zamoyski.[1] After the World War II, Jan Tomasz Zamoyski deposited the family library with the National Library of Poland, to which it now belongs.[1] From May 2024, the book is presented at a permanent exhibition in the Palace of the Commonwealth.[3][1]

The prayer book contains hours destined for the diocese of Tours.[4] It is printed in Gothic type on parchment.[4] A text is written in Latin and French.[1] The size of the book is 10.5x8 cm.[4] The 14 full-page figurative images preceding selected texts of the Gospels, the Hours, penitential psalms and prayers for the dead, were painted on woodcuts.[1] The other decorative elements include three small portraits of the evangelists.[4] The other decorative elements include three small portraits of the evangelists, bejewelled frames, small initials with floral and zoomorphic motifs and plant borders on the margins of some pages.[4]