The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of The Church of England, together with the Psalter of Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung or said in churches

  • 1 vols. 12mo
  • Oxford: Clarendon Press, by W. Dawson, T. Bensley, and J. Cooke, printers to the University, 1796
By
Oxford: Clarendon Press, by W. Dawson, T. Bensley, and J. Cooke, printers to the University, 1796. 1 vols. 12mo. Red morocco, stamped in gilt on covers and spine. Marbled endpapers with gilt-stamped morocco bookplate. Corners bumped. All edges gilt with double fore-edge painting of Lichfield and Chichester Cathedrals. Marbled endpapers. Bound-in ribbon marker. In buckram slipcase. 1 vols. 12mo. A late 18th-century version containing no royal preamble from George III, but only two brief pages at the rear — dated 1698 and 1696, respectively — attesting to then-king William II's approval of the New Version of the Psalms of David by Nicholas Brady and Nathan Tate, also included here.

Of special interest is the double fore-edge painting of both Lichfield and Chichester Cathedrals, two of the nine British medievel churches originally constructed as Roman Catholic cathedrals but later converted to Church of England worship during the reign of Henry VIII. Each have historically been governed by a secular chapter presided over by a dean, as opposed to a monastic bishop.

The provenance of this copy, noted below, appears to indicate that at some point soon after publication it traveled to the nascent United States, where the Lambs were prominent Boston shipping merchants in the late 1770s–early 1800s. The Reverend Alfred Niese — who was educated at the General Theological Seminary — was a rector in both New Jersey and Maine, and his fellow pastor and GST graduate, Ledlie Laughlin, served first in New Jersey, and was then instrumental in the reconstruction of St. Luke-in-the-Fields in Greenwich Village, which burned in 1981 during his progressive rectorship.

Provenance: Mr. J. A. Lamb (ownership signatures on preliminary and rear leafs); Harriet Robinson (bookplate, 1799); gift of the Rev. Alfred M. Niese to the General Theological Seminary in thanksgiving for the ministry of Ledlie I. Laughlin, Jr. (20th century). Not in Griffiths, D.N. Book of Common Prayer

MORE FROM THIS SELLER

James Cummins Bookseller Inc.

Specializing in Americana, African Americana, Science & Technology, Sporting, Color-Plate Books, Private Press, First Editions, Fine Bindings, Sets, English & American Literature, Illustration Art, Autographs & Manuscripts