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ART NOUVEAU DEVOTIONAL IN ORIGINAL GIFT BOX An attractively preserved late Victorian devotional designed for daily reflection and personal religious practice within the Christian Endeavor movement. Issued in a striking Art Nouveau binding and retained in its original decorated gift box, the volume combines devotional readings, poetry, scripture, moral reflection, and calendar-style birthday record spaces into a refined presentation format intended for both private meditation and gift giving. The decorative binding presents flowing stylized floral stems and tulip forms in dark green and gilt against light green buckram, reflecting the influence of late 19th-century Art Nouveau ornament and gift-book design. Internally, the work includes twelve plates, devotional selections arranged by calendar date, and quotations from religious writers, poets, and moral reform figures. The combination of attractive design, institutional Christian Endeavor association, and surviving box gives the volume notable crossover appeal beyond standard religious material. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Light green buckram over boards stamped in gilt and dark green with flowing Art Nouveau floral decoration incorporating stylized tulip blossoms and intertwining stems across the front board. Gilt spine and cover titles. Housed in the original decorated publisher's gift box. Octavo. Pagination: x, [2], 2-373 pages including index. Illustrated with 12 plates including frontispiece after Thorwaldsen. Devotional entries arranged in calendar format with ruled spaces for recording birthdays. CONDITION: Near Fine. Minimal handling wear to the book itself, which remains unusually well preserved. Buckram bright and fresh with gilt still attractive. Publisher's gift box remains solid and presentable with light handling wear, two split/open corners, and two small spots to the front panel. Retains the issued glassiline dust jacket. A notably superior survival for a boxed devotional volume of this period. SCARCITY NOTE: OCLC/WorldCat records approximately 13 institutional holdings. The title appears infrequently in the trade, particularly in the original publisher's gift box. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE - Rev. Francis E. Clark founded the Christian Endeavor movement in 1881, helping shape one of the most influential Protestant youth and lay organizations of the late 19th century. 'A Daily Message for Christian Endeavorers' presents scripture, poetry, devotional commentary, and inspirational quotations arranged in calendar form for daily reflection and communal religious life. The Art Nouveau binding and publisher's gift box reflect the period's growing emphasis on attractive devotional books intended equally for use, display, and presentation. SUBJECTS: Poetry, Art Nouveau Design, Gift Books, Decorative Bindings, Christian Endeavor movement, Francis E. Clark, devotional literature, Art Nouveau binding, Protestant devotional, boxed gift book, Victorian religion, daily meditation, religious gift editions, late 19th century Christianity, decorative religious bindings, Christian youth movements, Thorwaldsen frontispiece, devotional calendar book.
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