Booker, Rev. Luke.
Tributes to the Dead: consisting of more than two hundred Epitaphs, many of them original compositions, suitable for persons of all ages and circumstances.
London; J. Hatchard and Son: 1830. 1st Edition. The Reverend Luke Booker, like many of his brethren, was unimpressed by the state of epitaph writing in the 19th century. He was so unimpressed by the general tenor of most epitaphs, "which excite emotions certainly quite the reverse of seriousness", that "to prevent their occurrence in my own parish, I requested the different stone-masons always to let me see the form of inscription brought to them, before they transferred such form to its abiding station on stone... A consequence ensued which I did not anticipate, namely, the task of providing epitaphs...". That is what is perhaps most interesting about this book -many of the epitaphs were actually composed by a single person- the author. An uncommon work -OCLC lists just two copies. Hardcover. 4.5"x7..75", xviii + 98 pages + 1 leaf of advertisements for the publisher's other books; bound in the original decorated boards, with a decorative vignette of a willow covered urn on both the cover and title page. Light cover soil, a few points of rubbing, etc., along the spine; former owner's name on the upper corner of the cover; a little light soil on the endpapers. All in all, in superlative condition, in the original decorated boards. The paper is quite fresh and white. As sweet a copy of this title as you will ever be likely to find anywhere.
$300.00
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