A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts Of the Church of England: with collects and prayers for each solemnity

London: F. C. and J. Rivington et al, 1811. Leather. Good Only. 9" by 5". None. The thirty-first edition of this particular companion for the religious Festivals and Feasts The thirty-first edition. Robert Nelson (1656-1715), was an English philanthropist and religious writer. For many years he was an intimate friend and correspondent of Archbishop Tillotson, though not in agreement with his views; and he was also on terms of friendship with the astronomer Halley and other men of science. Nelson's sympathies were with the Jacobites; and after his return to England he associated himself with the nonjurors, under whose influence he produced several of his writings on religious subjects. He was an active supporter of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and similar associations, and he used his influence largely in the establishment of charity schools and the building of churches in London. In 1687 he had published a controversial work against transubstantiation, and in 1704 appeared his Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England, which obtained a remarkable popularity lasting till the middle of the 19th century. Within five years of its publication ten thousand copies of the Companion were printed, and thirty-six editions appeared in a hundred and twenty years. Full tree calf leather binding. There is some wear to the extremities, including some chips with loss to the top and tail of the spine. Both covers are attached, though the front board is attached by a single cord only. The front and rear inner hinges are strained. The corners are also chipped and bumped and the front and rear outer hinges are cracked. The binding is firm, though beginning to show the cords in places. Internally the book is clean and bright apart from some isolated spotting and handling marks. There is an ownership plate to the front paste down, and an ink signature to a front blank end paper. Good Only