Religious Offering 1840

Hardcover. Boards are a green publisher's cloth with an ornate, embossed cover. Gilt lettering and embossed ornamentation also adorn the spine. All edges gilt. Butter yellow pastedowns and flyleaves. Illustrated with ten engravings in black and white with protective tissue coverings, including a frontispiece entitled "Trail of Faith". Edition is in overall very good condition with wear to the cover, especially at the corners and joints, which bear 1" and 1.5" tears at the top of the spine. All edges show scratching and some wear. Crack to front and back inner hinges, yet binding is sound and tight. Significant foxing throughout and some offsetting, yet content remains legible. Several engravings are missing the protective tissue cover. This is a book of Christian / religious poetry, sonnets, reflections, retrospections and essays edited by Catherine H. Waterman. The first poem opens with the title in Latin "Te Deum", or loosely translated, "To God", written by Waterman. From the Preface: "In selecting from the large mass of materials submitted for insertion in the 'Religious Offering,' the editor has been governed by one principle, which she trusts will meet the approbation of the public. It has been, to choose those pieces only which were, in her judgement, most likely to interest the reader, and at the same time to convey a direct lesson of religious or moral instruction. No deference to distinguished names, no partiality to literary friends, no penchant for what was merely beautiful, light, and airy, has induced her to deviate from this her original plan. If there is any error in her execution of it, she trusts that it will be considered an error of judgement and not a deliberate violation of her own principle of action." [vi] 288 pp. Additional photos upon request. Full refund if not satisfied.…