The Book of Martyrs, Being a History of the Persecution of the Protestants, Carefully Compiled from Original Documents in the Government State Paper Office, and Known as the "Acts and Monuments" of the Christian Church. By John Foxe. With a Memoir of the Author and a Preface by Rev S.G. Potter. London: Adam & Co, [1873].
A STUNNING COPY OF FOXE'S FAMOUS BOOK OF MARTYRS IN A BEAUTIFUL CLASPED BINDING WITH BEAUTIFUL FULL PAGE COLOUR PLATES THROUGHOUT!
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In 1873, Adam & Co embarked on the creation of a new edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, influenced by the twin factors of increasing Irish immigration to Northern England and the rapid growth of the Orange Order. To provide a preface for this edition, they enlisted the services of the Protestant preacher Samuel Potter, who was at the time the vicar of St. Luke's parish in Sheffield.
Originally, Foxe's Book of Martyrs had aimed to depict a clear lineage of godliness and suffering both in its textual and visual elements. However, as Victorian sensibilities evolved, there was a growing aversion to the graphic portrayal of human suffering, particularly that of women and children. To cater to these changing sensibilities, the shock value of this edition was achieved primarily through Potter's vehement attacks on newspapers, the government, Prime Minister Gladstone, and the Pope within the text.
Contrasting with the original woodcuts published by Day in the seventeenth century, the brightly coloured images in this edition were intended for family consumption and were considerably more sanitised. Unfortunately, despite Foxe's continuing popularity, Adam & Co faced financial troubles and went out of business just six years later. Subsequently, the rights to the Potter edition were acquired by John G. Murdoch, a well-known figure in religious publishing.
Regarding the illustrations in the 1873 edition, Adam & Co produced a total of nineteen illustrations, although most examined copies, according to Evenden in 2014, only seemed to contain twelve. Evenden only located one extant copy with the full 19 plates. This seeming discrepancy was not accidental but rather a deliberate choice, with the plates depicting female martyrs being the least common. We could trace only one copy having sold and that copy had a total of just 2 coloured plates present. Remarkably, our copy has 14 of these coloured plates present, 15 including the colour title page. This is therefore perhaps the most complete example obtainable of this rare important edition.
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Provenance:
Very interestingly, especially with regard to the part written about British Prime Minister William Gladstone above, we find a seemingly original campaign advertisement for Gladstone reading "Economy Retrenchment Reform. R.T. Hon W.E. Gladstone M.P.. The Uncompromising Advocate of Civil and Religious Liberty. Coventry. T. Stevens." This seems to be from his campaign for Prime Minister whilst he was still an M.P. and is remarkably well preserved, though creased, inside this book. Curiously, we also find a colour cutout portrait of William Gladstone in his later years.
Ownership inscription of "Mr-Mrs R.T. Nicholson" also with the interesting ownership inscription of "Mr-Mrs Jane Eyre" and "Annie Elizabeth Eyre." Perhaps some relation to the famous novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
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Size: 250 x 320 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[xxviii, 876pp]
Rebacked contemporary full leather binding with contemporary mounted metal surrounds and clasps. Seemingly the original publisher's binding which is very extravagant indeed. Loss to gilt of binding, worn with some loss. The majority of the original backstrip is preserved, relaid on newer but still near contemporary leather. The rebacking seems to have been done quite near to the time of publication. The endpapers are also near contemporary. Both boards are thus securely attached, the joints and hinges without fault. Without any attached bookplates but with the aforementioned ownership inscriptions to the head of the front pastedown as well as the loose pieces of ephemera. Some light foxing to a few plates else generally very clean throughout the page block. Clasps function well and remain closed when desired. All page edges gilt, very good. Textually collates as complete with 14 (+title page) coloured plates throughout.
An excellent copy of this scarce book.
[John Foxe, Samuel Potter and the Illustration of the Book of Martyrs. Evenden, Elizabeth. Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 2014-04-01T00:00:00, vol. 90, no. 1, pp. 203-230(28), Manchester University Press].
