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large 4to. full leather. Author portrait and added engraved title page, 568, (10) pages, with (1) page of advertisements. Second edition, first illustrated edition with 27 plates (Wing T-343; Lowndes IV, 2585). Front pastedown with the 19th century armorial bookplate of Charles Lilburn, early (17th century?) inscription of John Bidgood on title-page. Corners a bit worn, a handful of abraisions on covers, spine a little chafed and abraded, but the sympathetic binding very solid, with unworn joints, and generally pleasing. Four of the plates with expertly mended tears without loss, two gatherings with minor dampstain at very bottom edge, trivial soiling or foxing here and there, otherwise quite an excellent copy internally, the text clean, bright, and especially fresh. First published in 1649, the year of Charles I's execution, this life of Christ is an attempt to cool the seething religious quarrels of the times by refocusing attention on the magnanimous nature of Christ's life and teachings. The author retells the story of the New Testament, adding his own advice apropos of relevant episodes. He cousels women to breastfeed their own children in imitation of the Virgin, and recommends restraint of desire in emulation of John the Baptist. Chaplain to Charles, Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) was captured by the Parliamentarians more than once, though quickly released, and permitted to console the king after his highness' captivity. During the period of Cromwell's ascendancy, Taylor devoted himself to writing, advocating mutual toleration in religion. After the restoration of the Stuarts, Taylor was back in favor, and he became bishop of Dronmore. His writing has always been greatly admired; Day calls him "probably the greatest prose writer of the 17th century." It is possible that the person whose signature appears on the title page is John Bidgood (1624), a physician whose sympathies were royalist, as, of course, were Taylor's. He was ejected from his Oxford fellowship by Parliamentarian censors, and finished his education at the University of Padua, famous for its medical expertiese. On his return to England, he established a lucrative practice, and was even reinstated in his fellowship in 1660 at the Stuart Restoration. DNB informs us that "his good qualities were marred by a morose disposition and by a satirical vein of humor," but perhaps he meditated on Taylor's book whenever he was feeling glum or mean. Engraved author portrait, added engraved title page, and 13 folding plates (most dated 1653 and signed W. Fathorne as engraver), depicting New Testament scenes and the Evangelists. Bound in a Retrospective Cambridge calf binding by De Coverly for Pickering & Co. (signed on flyleaf), covers with frames and panels of dark speckled and light polished calf, multiple gilt rules, and antique gilt fleuron cornerpieces, raised bands, attractively gilt spine compartments with scrolling cornerpieces and elaborate floral centerpiece, two orange-brown labels, turnins inticately gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, neatly rebacked, retaining almost all of the original backstrip.
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