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A magnificently bound and extravagantly extra-illustrated copy of The Book of Common Prayer, prepared for presentation to, or perhaps commissioned by, Samuel Rous, President of His Majesty's Council and Commander-in-Chief (i.e. governor) of Barbados, from 1766 to 1768. He also served again in 1772, the year indicated on the rear cover. The Rous family, Quakers residing in Barbados, were leading planters on the island since the late 1630s. The fifty-nine plates bound in this volume to complement the text were originally executed for The Liturgy of the Church of England; Illustrated with Fifty Nine Historical and Explanatory Sculptures, Engraved by Mess. Ravenett, Grignion, Scotin, Canott, Walker, and W. Ryland, printed in London in 1755 by Edward Ryland. According to the titlepage, included here as one of the extra-illustrated plates, this work was published according to an act of Parliament on May 1, 1755. However, no copies of this 1755 title are recorded in OCLC or ESTC. In addition to The Book of Common Prayer and the engravings from The Liturgy of the Church of England, this copy also contains a 1768 edition of A New Version of the Psalms of David, first printed in 1698. Considering the recipient and the combined contents of the volume, these two texts and the extensive suite of engravings are bound in an appropriately sumptuous binding. Prepared for Samuel Rous, who served as governor of Barbados, the binding is a marvelous example of later 18th-century British bookbinding, with extensive gilt decoration on the covers and spine as described above. A fine copy of an elaborately decorated and illustrated volume, with a remarkable colonial-era provenance. GRIFFITHS, BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 1769.5. Tall quarto. Contemporary black morocco, almost imperceptibly rebacked with original backstrip laid down, elaborately gilt, spine gilt with raised bands, gilt inner dentelles, a.e.g., contemporary marbled pastedowns and free endpapers. On the front cover the center of the diamond-shape design is lettered "The Honorable Samuel Rous Esq. Barbados," surrounded by a stylized fern border. On the rear cover, the center of the diamond-shape design is lettered "One Thousand Seven Hundred & Seventy Two," also surrounded by a stylized fern border. Two corners rubbed and two corners almost imperceptibly repaired, otherwise in fine condition. A few minor dampstains on a few leaves at front and rear and occasional minor foxing, absolutely not affecting text or images. [bound with:] Brady, N., and N. Tate: A NEW VERSION OF THE PSALMS OF DAVID, FITTED TO THE TUNES USED IN CHURCHES. London: H. Woodfall, 1768. [26] leaves (printed in triple columns). A fine copy.
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