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Bible: 256 x 173 mm. (10 1/8 x 6 3/4"), Common Prayer: 251 x 160 mm. (9 7/8 x 6 1/4"), Prayers: 80 x 110 mm. (7 x 4 1/4"). Three separately published volumes. VERY PRETTY DEEP GREEN STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO by J. Mackenzie (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers bordered with a French fillet enclosing a large scrolling central frame, central panel gilt stamped "Charl[ot]te Hill, 1834," raised bands, spine compartments decorated with a similar scrolling frame, turn-ins gilt, all edges gilt. In a (surprisingly well-preserved) publisher's custom-made dual-level black morocco box. Book of Common Prayer with front hinge just slightly open at bottom, otherwise virtually without signs of use--A REMARKABLY WELL-PRESERVED SET. In a clever custom box that includes a facsimile spine, these three devotional books feature particularly attractive matching bindings by a leading London artisan. The three books include the Bible (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1829), the Book of Common Prayer (London: Joseph Butterworth & Son, et. al., 1824), and Prayers and Offices of Devotion (London: Longman & Co. et. al., 1832). The last of these, written by Church of England clergyman Benjamin Jenks (1648-1724), includes specific prayers for a wide variety of situations, ranging from deaths to requests for rain to "the Mortification of all fleshly lusts." It became a classic that remained in print through the end of the 19th century. Binder John Mackenzie may have been trained by the firm of Staggemeier & Welcher, and he is known to have employed Joseph Zaehnsdorf from 1840-42. According to Howe, he described himself in a circular issued in 1840 as "Bookbinder to their late Majesties King George IVth & King William IVth," ("bookbinder to the King" is stamped inside the present bindings), as well as a binder with 40 years of experience, and someone with one of the largest collections of brass binding tools in London. His work is of a very high quality, as the present volumes attest. The custom covers indicate that our volumes were the property of a Charlotte Hill. Since she had a common name, we cannot say who she was, and she may have been a fine woman with impeccable deportment. However, she did not find inspiration from the present virtually untouched set, which--much to our benefit--has been handled by her (and subsequent owners) as a treasure, not as a source of communion with the divine. Bible: 256 x 173 mm. (10 1/8 x 6 3/4"), Common Prayer: 251 x 160 mm. (9 7/8 x 6 1/4"), Prayers: 80 x.
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