Lot 42
  • 42

[Book of Common Prayer]

Estimate
800 - 1,200 GBP
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Description

  • The Booke of Common Prayer and administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and ceremonies of the Church of England. Printed by Robert Barker...and by the Assignes of John Bill, 1632
  • Paper
small 4to, woodcut title [McKerrow and Ferguson 164b], calendar printed in red and black, separate title page for "The Psalter, of Psalmes of David", lacking final blank; [bound with:] The Whole Book of Psalmes: Collected into English meeter. Printed by T[homas]. P[urfoot]. for the Company of Stationers, 1633, small 4to, woodcut title [McKerrow and Ferguson 263], printed music in the text, pages numbered on rectos only, index at end; contemporary English calf elaborately gilt with floral centre- and corner-pieces on a semis of inverted fleurons, within a wide gilt border of volutes, flat spine in five compartments tooled in gilt with the same stamp as the wide border, edges gilt and gauffered, two clasps, additional pair of catches [?] on upper edge (possibly rings for a girdle book?), lacking both straps and one catchplate on lower board, somewhat rubbed

Provenance

Sophia Areskine [Lady Sophia Erksine], wife of Alexander Forbes (c.1655-1690), 3rd Lord Forbes of Pitsligo, inscription on endpaper

The Forbes Baronetcy was created in 1626 for Sir William Forbes (d. circa 1650) by James VI in the Barontage of Nova Scotia. The majority of the works offered here were acquired by the sixth Baronet, also William (1739-1806), who added Pitsligo to his title in 1781. He was an eminent Scottish banker and benefactor, good friend of James Boswell and Samuel Johnson (see lots 45-46), and finally succeeded in recovering the Pitsligo estates forfeited after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. His son William, the seventh baronet, beat Sir Walter Scott to the hand of the renowned beauty Williamina Belsches Stuart (1776-1810), and it was with their marriage that the family moved to her family seat, Fettercairn House in Kincardineshire, Aberdeenshire.

Literature

Griffiths 1632/1; PMM 75; STC (2nd ed.) 16385.7 and 2641

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

IN AN ATTRACTIVE AND STRICTLY CONTEMPORARY BINDING. "Large centrepiece and cornerpiece tools", as here, "continued as an important part of the ornamental vocabulary well into the seventeenth century, gradually declining in popularity through the 1620s and 1630s, and hardly ever encountered after 1640" (David Pearson, English Bookbinding Styles 1450-1800 (2005), p.133). The lozenge shaped centrepiece design used in this binding is illustrated on p.136. The pattern of overlapping circles on the gauffered edges is also consistent with an early seventeeth century binding (see English Bindings 1490-1940 in the Library of J.R. Abbey (1940), nos. 18-19).