This Bible has a chamber for a gun and it was made in Venice for Doge Francesco Morosini (1619-1694) in the second part of 17th Century AD. The owner of the bible could pull the silk bookmark to shoot while the book was still closed. From 1688 until 1694 AD, during the height of the Great Turkish War, Francesco Morosini served as Doge of Venice.
He was a member of a famous noble Venetian family (Morosini family) which produced several Doges and generals. He “dressed always in red from top to toe and never went into action without his cat beside him.” While the bible was still unopened, the owner of the bible can pull out the silk bookmark to shoot. After his death in 1694 AD, a large marble arch was placed in his honor at the Doge’s Palace, and his cat, of which Morosini was notably fond, was embalmed and taken to the Museo Correr. The gun book is now on exhibit in Venice’s Museo Correr. Lorenzo Cittone writes in his book Venise, L’hiver Et L’ete, De Pres Et De Loin, about this incredible gun-book: “I’ve found in a display case of the Correr museum, in Venice, Morosini’s prayers book that I used to love so much as Apart from a few prayers, this beautiful book features a buttless gun. Of course, the binding is stunning. And it’s difficult to get the gun out once the book is closed.”