1878 History of the English Church | G. G. Perry | First Edition | Full Leather Prize Binding | Gilt Edges | John Murray

A handsome 1878 first edition of A History of the English Church by G. G. Perry, beautifully bound in full dark brown calf with elaborate gilt tooling, gilt board borders, gilt-tooled turn-ins, marbled endpapers, and gilt to all edges. The upper board bears the finely executed gilt armorial crest of Somersetshire College, Bath, identifying the volume as an elegant nineteenth-century prize binding.

Published by the distinguished London publisher John Murray, this substantial work chronicles the history of the Church of England from the accession of Henry VIII through the early eighteenth century. Written as part of Perry’s Student’s English Church History series, the volume was intended to present a scholarly account of one of the most transformative periods in English religious and political history. 

The work explores the English Reformation in remarkable depth, including:

*Henry VIII and the break with Rome
*Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cranmer, Anne Boleyn, and Thomas Cromwell
*The Dissolution of the Monasteries
*Edward VI and the Protestant reforms
*Queen Mary I and the Marian persecutions
*Elizabeth I and the Elizabethan Religious Settlement
*The rise of Puritanism
*The Westminster Assembly and the English Civil War
*Archbishop Laud and Charles I
*The Restoration under Charles II
*The Glorious Revolution
*The Church under Queen Anne through 1717

Beyond its scholarly content, this volume is especially desirable for its refined Victorian craftsmanship. The richly gilt spine, marbled endpapers, gilt edges, and armorial prize binding combine to create an elegant decorative volume equally suited to a collector’s library or display.

Condition: Very Good +

Full brown calf prize binding firm and sound. Elaborately gilt-decorated spine is bright, with only light rubbing consistent with age. Gilt armorial crest to the front board remains crisp. Gilt edges retain an attractive sheen. Marbled endpapers are vibrant. Interior pages are clean and bright with only light occasional age toning. Binding is firm and text complete. 621pp.

Size: 5” x 7.“

A beautifully preserved Victorian prize binding combining historical scholarship with exceptional nineteenth-century bookbinding craftsmanship.