COLLECTION OF CHRISTIAN HYMNS IN A PRECIOUS VICTORIAN BINDING: PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED EDITION of EXQUISITE EXAMPLE OF REFINED VICTORIAN PRESS

The Spirit of Praise. A Collection of Hymns Old and New. London: F.Warne and Co. and New York: Scribner, Welford & Co., s.d. [second half of the 19th century].

44to (252x175 mm), very smart red morocco binding with gilt frames and arabesques at covers, five raised bands spine with gilt floral decorations and titles to compartments, gilt edges, marbled fly-leaves, pp- [10], 252.

Text in English. Title-page and frontispiece chromolithographed in red, blue, brown and gold by J. Burliston. Full-page illustrations in black, red, blue and gold engraved by the Dalziel Brothers’ Company, many black and white pictures, hundreds of red and black initials with floral marginal extensions, decorated head- and tail-pieces.

EXQUISITE TITLE-PAGE AND FRONTISPIECE CHROMOLITHOGRAPHED IN RED, BLUE, BROWN AND GOLD BY J. BURLISTON. FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN BLACK, RED, BLUE AND GOLD ENGRAVED BY THE DALZIEL BROTHER’S COMPANY, MANY BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES, HUNDREDS OF RED AND BLACK INITIALS WITH FLORAL MARGINAL EXTENSIONS, DECORATED HEAD- AND TAIL-PIECES.

Uncommon edition of the «Spirit of praise», a collection of hymns based on the psalms. The celebration of God passes also through the crafting value of this volume, a luxury version of the work refined in every detail.

Sumptuous collection of Christian hymns based on the psalms in a Victorian fine-arts edition. The book is patronized by St. Cecilia and King David, both included in the elegant frame at title-page, singing and playing.

THE HYMNS ARE TEMATICALLY DIVIDED INTO SECTIONS, named after the topics they are related to. The first collections are devoted to God (The Creator, Prayer, Lord’s Day), then to the virtues (Faith, Hope, Love, Joy, Patience), to the moments of the day (Morning, Evening, Night) or of the year (Seed-time and Harvest, The Old and the New Year) or of the human life (Death and the Grave). All the hymns of the second part of the book are closely related to Jesus Christ and labelled after Judgement, Nativity, Baptism, Lord’s Supper, Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension, Kingdom of Christ and Heaven.

When the AUTHORS of the compositions are known, their name can be found in red at the end of the lines. They include men and women, saints and clergymen. The verses that inspired the hymns preceed each composition.

THE ARTISTS that designed the illustrations were: J. Burlison, T. Dalziel, J. W. North, E. G. Dalziel, G. Dalziel, E. Dalziel, W. Smallfield. G. J. Pinwell, J. W. Lawson, A. B. Houghton, A. W. Bayes, Paul Gray, J. Wolf, W. Small, Birket Foster, John Gilbert, P. Hundley, and F. A. Fraser.

The binding was handmade by the RENOWNED BINDER A.W. BAIN, as stated by the inscription at the top of the verso of first fly-leaf.

Provenance: I. Paper ex-libris of the Guest House Library with a crowned cross at recto of the second fly-leaf. II. Below the previous ex-libris, owner signature, handwritten but unreadable.

Reference: A copy of this book (i.e. without the coloured embellishments) can be found on www.archive.org, from the copy belonged by the Princeton Theological Seminary Library. For more information about the work of the binder A.W. Bain, see A binder’s tale, an introduction to the services of a.w. Bain & co. Ltd. London, A.W. Bain & Co., 1968.

Minor traces of use to covers, but overall an excellent copy in its handmade binding. Note: Other photos are available on request. By appointment, it is also possible to see and browse this lot via skype .