A Prayer Book for the Public and Private Use of our Soldiers and Sailors; With Bible Readings and Hymns

16mo. 29 cm x 21 cm. [2], 3-192 pp. Blue publisher's cloth with a red border on each board, red lettering on the front board, flexible boards. There is a pocket on the rear board, but nothing is in the pocket. Immediately after the title page, the book states the motives and objects of (the First World) war: "We are glad to fight for the ultimate peace of the world, and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included; for the rights of nations great and small, and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and obedience . ". It is an excerpt from President Wilson's statement on the United States entering the First World War. An inscription on the free front endpaper reads: "Willis [Winfried/Winfreed] 506 S. Neil [The next line is illegible] Illinois 1917 - U.S.A. Great Lakes Illinois". The owner of this prayer book was either trembling while writing his inscription or his ink was exposed to moisture (though the paper itself has no dampstain). This book clearly traveled with the naval recruit to Great Lakes, the naval training station just north of Chicago. Although we cannot identify exactly who the owner was, the item is significant as it is a record of what kind of item was important enough to a Navyman to transport to a war zone (based on the book's significant wear and use we believe it traveled to the European theatre after the recruit completed his training at Great Lakes). Significant rubbing to the cloth, rear gutter is cracked but the binding is holding.…