Overview:

• Title: The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church
• Publisher: Oxford, publisher unconfirmed
• Date: c. 1870
• Language: English
• Format: Miniature / Pocket Edition
• Binding: Ivory-coloured rigid boards with contrasting leather spine, gilt decoration and metal pins.

Description

An attractive late nineteenth-century miniature edition of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, printed at Oxford and housed in an unusual decorative binding.

The volume is bound in smooth, ivory-coloured rigid boards with rounded corners, secured with small metal pins. The contrasting dark leather spine features gilt horizontal rules, decorative floral ornaments and the gilt-lettered title "COMMON PRAYER", with "OXFORD" at the foot.

The material of the boards has not been conclusively identified and may be bone, imitation ivory or another decorative material.

The volume contains the traditional Anglican liturgy, including the ecclesiastical calendar, appointed lessons, prayers, thanksgivings and the Psalter. Also present is a religious illustration depicting the Virgin Mary.

Miniature prayer books became particularly popular during the Victorian period, when small devotional volumes were produced for personal use and convenient transportation. More decorative examples, such as the present volume, were frequently intended as personal possessions or religious gifts.

The combination of pale rigid boards, gilt-decorated leather spine and compact proportions makes this an attractive example of nineteenth-century devotional bookbinding.

Condition

The binding remains intact, with the ivory-coloured boards displaying some surface scratches, minor staining and age-related discolouration. The leather spine exhibits rubbing and cracking, although the gilt lettering and decorative ornaments remain visible.

The text block appears generally well preserved, with occasional age-related toning, minor creasing and light staining. The reddish page edges retain much of their original appearance.

The religious illustration displays some surface wear and creasing.

An attractive miniature devotional volume, retaining much of its nineteenth-century character.

Dimensions:

Weight - 26g

Height - 5.6cm

Width - 4.5cm

Thickness - 1.6cm