Le Retour à Dieu, ou Motifs de Conversion – 1851 French Devotional Work with Gilt Cartonnage | Abbé Marius Aubert

A stunning mid-19th-century French Catholic devotional work, Le Retour à Dieu, ou Motifs de Conversion, written by Abbé Marius Aubert and published in 1851 by Imprimerie et Librairie Ecclésiastique de Guyot Frères in Lyon and Paris.

The book is bound in an ornate gilt and blue publisher’s cartonnage, richly embossed with scrolling foliate ornament and a central ornamental panel, offering strong shelf presence typical of French religious gift books of the period. The spine retains decorative gilt tooling and original structure.

Internally, the volume contains engraved devotional plates, including a striking image of the Nativité de Marie, along with extended religious reflections and conversion narratives drawn from historical and moral examples. The text is deeply devotional in nature, intended to inspire spiritual reflection, repentance, and renewed faith.

An original institutional prize leaf, dated August 1851, awarded by a religious community for academic distinction—adding authentic provenance and a tangible link to its 19th-century educational and devotional context.

Binding tight. Gilt vibrant. With scattered foxing throughout.

A compelling example of French religious publishing from the mid-1800s, combining decorative binding, engraved illustration, and institutional history.

Condition: Very Good

Size: 3 3/4” x 6”

A visually striking survivor of 19th-century French devotional literature, valued for its ornate binding, engraved imagery, and period provenance.