Sonnets and the Bible. ***RARE 1896 BOOK IN ORIGINAL DUST-JACKET***

Shakespeare, Sonnets and the Bible, 1896: this richly appealing 19th century book greets the world today with a wonderful historic feature: for it remains still complete with its original tissue dust-jacket. Published in London by Samuel Bagster & Sons, it is amazing that this precious element of the book (which makes for completion) should have survived from the late-Victorian period to present. To give the book it's full title: "Shakespeare and the Bible: Fifty Sonnets with their Scriptural Harmonies." Juxtaposing Shakespearean sonnets with biblical passages, the Victorian Charles Ellis provided this lovely book with what preachers in the era were trending - a "Bardolatry" in which Shakespeare's works were interpreted through their close biblical parallels (an alignment that placed Shakespeare next to God). The wonderfully rendered placing of the sonnets within their Christian themes captures a fascinating 19th century "Cult of Shakespeare" insight, and this utterly charming little book is definitely one to treasure and look after. Stitch bound in the original white stiff card wrappers, the book's binding remains in excellent antiquarian preservation, with no loose pages etc. Most unusually, there are no ownership inscriptions to detract from the pleasure of owning this highly collectible Victorian book. Within, the pages are in clean and very good order with just a little occasional browning to the gutters. Indeed, several of the pages remain unopened and the erratum slip is still present, tucked in towards the rear of the book. Age-related wear is gentle overall, and the very fragile tissue dust-jacket, though complete, does show some inevitable signs of wear, as shown. That said, it is incredibly uncommon to see this scarce book with the jacket at all. This is a lovely, rare find and, as I say, very much a book to treasure. Dimensions of book: approx. 11cm x 14cm.…