SALESIAN CATECHETICAL CENTRE (publisher).
The Mysteries of the Rosary (Complete Large-Format Pop-Up Book Set).
Hong Kong: Salesian Catechetical Centre, 1967. First edition.
Three large-format volumes. Each approximately 13 x 18 inches (33 x 47 cm). Text in Chinese, with a printed English translation booklet included. Each volume contains 14 pages and six full-color pop-up illustrations. Bound in pictorial boards, all volumes housed in the original printed box. These monumental pop-up constructions were engineered to be viewed at a distance, allowing an entire class to engage simultaneously with the visual narrative. The 3 volume series represents a large-scale extension of the Salesian Catechetical Centre’s Catechetical Scenes program, translating its pop-up instructional methodology into a monumental devotional format.
An exceptionally rare complete set of this large-scale catechetical pop-up series created by the Salesians of Don Bosco. Issued in 1967 by the Salesian Catechetical Centre in Hong Kong, these volumes were designed for classroom use and depict scenes from the traditional Catholic Rosary. The books are titled according to the three classic Rosary divisions: The Joyful Mysteries, The Sorrowful Mysteries, and The Glorious Mysteries. Each volume features six elaborately constructed pop-up tableaux, printed horizontally for ease of classroom display.
Condition:
All three books are in mint, unused condition. Only one volume has been carefully opened for documentation. Pop-ups are pristine and fully functional. Original box present with light external wear but fully intact. Includes the rare original English-language brochure translating the full contents of each volume, seldom found with surviving sets.
Collector's Corner:
Very few complete sets of The Mysteries of the Rosary are known to survive. Several sets, including the present example, were rediscovered in sealed cartons stored in Hong Kong and made available to a small number of collectors through a Salesian monastery in the United States in the late 1990s. Among those early recipients was noted collector Betty Tisinger, whose collection later formed the basis of a substantial donated holding at Virginia Commonwealth University. The present set derives from her remaining collection, now being dispersed through her family’s specialist catalog. Produced for catechetical and missionary use rather than for the commercial book trade, these oversized pop-up volumes were issued in limited numbers and were seldom retained once their instructional purpose was fulfilled. As with the earlier Catechetical Scenes series, the books were authored by Rev. M. Coerezza, S.D.B., and carry the imprimatur and nihil obstat—Roman Catholic declarations affirming doctrinal integrity. Few, if any, complete examples in the original box are recorded in online bibliographic references or institutional catalogs. The present example is the only complete boxed set currently known to us in the marketplace.
For more history on theses books see our listing here : https://www.vintagepopupbooks.com/Catechetical-Scenes-pop-up-book-set-p/m-12.htm