Beschreibung:

EDWARDS OF HALIFAX, bindery]. -- BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, English. The 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. Paris: P. Didot for W. Edwards and sons, Halifax, 1791.
EDWARDS OF HALIFAX, bindery]. -- BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, English. The 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. Paris: P. Didot for W. Edwards and sons, Halifax, 1791. 12 o (150 x 89 mm). 9 engraved inserted plates by Stothard (some faint spotting). Contemporary vellum, covers with a gilt roll border of Greek key pattern on a purple wash background, enclosing a gilt roll of stylized leaf, smooth spine gilt-lettered on a purple wash background and divided into 5 compartments, the remaining 4 compartments each with a repeated gilt-tooled ornamental panel with a bird in the center, purple silk linings, edges gilt concealing a CONTEMPORARY FORE-EDGE PAINTING OF AN ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE (lacking original straight-grained green morocco slipcase, some slight loss of color and gold on covers, some loss of gilt to spine, purple wash background on spine faded); modern quarter morocco folding case. Provenance: Estelle Doheny (bookplate; her sale Christie's Camarillo California, 1 February 1988, lot 609). "Thanks to the vision and promptness of James Edwards Pierre Didot agreed to print in Paris an edition of the English Book of Common Prayer , to be 'sold by W. Edwards & Sons, Halifax, 1791'" (Weber p. 10). Due to the French Revolution, however, copies of "the Didot prayer-book reached him in (or shortly after) 1802" (Weber II p.79). Weber I, color frontispiece and p.139; Weber II, color plate facing p. 207.