Key of Heaven
Key of Heaven
Key of Heaven

Key of Heaven

Object number2017.128.1
Writer
Publisher
Date1925
OriginNew York, NY
OriginCzechoslovakia
MediumPaper; Ink; Adhesive; Graphite
Credit LineGift of Estate of Anita DeVivo
DescriptionPrayer book. Black textured softcover. Front center has gold cross with entwined letters. Spine has gold title. Textblock has gold edging. Marbled black endpapers. Second page has handwritten dedication text in brown ink. Black and white illustrations throughout book. Title page and reverse have printed book and maker information. 192 numbered pages.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 5.125 × 3.625 × 1.125 in. (13 × 9.2 × 2.9 cm)
InscriptionsFront center has gold cross with entwined letters "S" and "H".

Second page has handwritten text in brown ink "To their teachers / Miss Stella De Masi - / the Girls of the / 1st Communion Class / A.D. 1930 - May 25th".
MarksSpine has gold title "KEY OF / HEAVEN".

Title page has printed black text including "Key of Heaven / A MANUAL / OF / CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS / BY / REV. A. ZURBONSEN, / PASTOR OF / ST. MARY'S CHURCH, QUINCY ILL. / CATHOLIC PUBLICATIONS PRESS / NEW YORK. / Printed in Czechoslovakia".

Reverse of title page has printed black text "Approbation of the Ordinary. / IMPRIMATUR / JACOBUS RYAN, / Episc. Altonensis. / IMPRIMATUR. / Patrick Cardinal Hayes / Archbishop, New York. / NEW YORK, May 28, 1925."
Historical NotesAnita DeVivo of the Mahoningtown neighborhood of New Castle, Pennsylvania was a professional editor and publisher that worked on a number of high profile publications, including the Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) and The Chicago Manual of Style. DeVivo was an active Catholic and a member of the choir at the U.S. National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., performing at the funeral of President John F. Kennedy. The prayer book, one of many she owned, originally belonged to an aunt. Inside the front cover is an inscription that indicates that the book was a gift to Miss Stella DeMasi from the girls of the First Communion class of St. Vitus Catholic Church on May 25, 1930.
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