FORE-EDGE PAINTINGS
FORE-EDGE PAINTINGS
A Double Fore-Edge Painting on
Treasured & Treasurable
Church
of England. Liturgies. Book of common prayer. Book of common prayer, and administration of the sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the Church, according to the use of the Church of England: Together with the
Psalter or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung or said in churches. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1791. 8vo (25.5 cm, 10"). [196] ff. [bound with] Bible. O.T. Psalms. English. Sternhold and Hopkins. The whole book of psalms, collected into English metre. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1793. 8vo (25.5 cm, 10"). [60] ff.
striking double fore-edge painting depicting (in one direction) the medieval Abbey Church of St. Albans in Hertfordshire, with a horse-drawn carriage in the foreground, and in the other direction the western facade of Westminster Abbey, with passing pedestrians.
Single-click any image where the hand appears onProvenance: The front fly-leaf bears an inked inscription reading “From this Book our 4 Dear Children were Babtized [sic] by the Rev. S. Good, Rector of St. Anns Blk. Friars, And afterwards Christened by their Dear Uncle the Rev. Charles Brown, Rector of Whitestone, near Exeter, Devon.” The children's baptismal dates range from 1806 through 1814.
• ESTC T93069; Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, 1791/7. Binding as above, leather slightly worn over joints and extremities. Front fly-leaf with collector's small bookplate, reverse with inscription as above, title-page with owner's name and date (1806) inked in upper margin. Pages clean.
Beautifully
Printed 
Charming
Fore-Edge Painting
Church
of England. Liturgies. 
Book
of common prayer. Book of common prayer, and administration of the sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the Church, according to the use of the Church of England: Together with the Psalter, or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung or said in churches. And the form or manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating of bishops, priests, and deacons. London: Thomas Baskett (assigns of Robert Baskett), 1758. 4to (27.5 cm, 10.9"). [232] ff. [bound with] Bible. O.T. Psalms. English. Sternhold and Hopkins. The whole book of psalms; collected into English metre. London: J. Bettenham & H. Woodfall, 1751. 4to. 56 pp.
Click any image where the hand appears on Binding: Contemporary straight-grain dark blue morocco now tending to olive, covers framed with a gilt single fillet; round spine with raised bands, blind roll on each band, and each band defined by gilt rules above and below it. Spine with compartments stamped in blind, gilt-stamped title, and gilt-stamped decorations at head and foot; place and date of publication in gilt at base of spine. All edges gilt; fore-edge painting as above.
• ESTC T081415; Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, 1758/1. Binding as above, corners a bit rubbed and joints somewhat more so, with upper and outer cover edges showing some fading. Front pastedown with small shelving number slip and small bookplate of a private collector. Pages very slightly age-toned, otherwise clean save for minor bleed to some outer margins from the fore-edge painting. Beautiful.
Hidden
Da Vinci Painting Church of England. Liturgies. Book of common prayer. The book of common prayer, and administration of the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the church, according to the use of the United Church of England and Ireland. Cambridge: J. Smith, 1814. 8vo (23.7 cm, 9.3"). 641, [1], 84 pp.
Click the interior images for enlargements. 
fore-edge painting, a rendering of Da Vinci's “Last Supper” with some colors altered.
Binding: Contemporary red straight-grain morocco, covers framed in gilt rolls and fillets, board edges with gilt roll of hashmark pattern. Spine gilt extra, turn-ins with Greek key gilt roll. All edges gilt. Housed in a black cloth slipcase with printed paper label.
• NSTC L1859. Griffiths, Book of Common Prayer, 1814/3 (giving incorrect pagination, but correct collation by signature). Binding as above, gilt dimmed in some places, front cover with faintly incised circular markings; edges, extremities, and joints rubbed. Some age-toning, occasional smudges. Final two leaves darkened, with short edge tears. (24017)
Elegantly Bound — THREE Fore-Edge Paintings Reynolds, Joshua, Sir. The complete works...with an original memoir, and anecdotes of the author. In three volumes. London: Pr. by Howlett & Brimmer for Thomas M'Lean, 1824. 3 vols. 8vo (16.2 cm, 6.4"). I: xcvii, [1], 219, [1] pp. (lacking frontis.). II: iv, 303, [1] pp. III: [4], 272 pp.
The Fore-Edges: Each volume bears a different fore-edge painting with a hunting theme, the hunters in traditional "pink" coats, with a pack of brown-and-white hounds either gamboling around the horses' legs or coursing ahead in the gently rolling terrain.
These proved particularly tricky to photograph, but here's the trio:
• Hinges cracked across silk, inside, but all holding; vol. I frontispiece lacking. Some wear at heads, tails, and corners, nicely refurbished; occasional light spots of foxing.
Attractive.
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