De Antiquitate Britannicae Ecclesiae, Et nominatim De Privilegiis Ecclesiae Cantuarensis, atque de Archiepiscopis eiusdem LXXX. Historia by (Parker, Matthew, Archbishop of Canterbury) - 1605

Hanoviae: Typis Wechelianis, apud Claud. Marnium & haeredes Ioannis Aubrii, 1605. Hardcover. Very good. Folio. (viii), 358pp index. Full old cracked calf boards, old reback, leather lettering label, gilt. Decorative head and t ail pieces, and initials. The second edition, preceded by a small printing in 1572 and followed by a London printing of 1729. Armorial bookplate of Richard Banner, also of Thomas Anson of Shugborough (signed Yates Sculpt); and old plate for the Library of Society for the Home Study of Holy Scripture and Church History. Also a bookbinder label from Gustav E. Stechert of New=York, likely the binder who rebacked this volume. Hinge cracked but firm, occasional soiling, the date written on the reverse of the title page and bled through, else a very good copy. Rare. Thomas Anson extended Shugborough Hall, in Staffordshire, and was a noted patron of the arts and a founding member of the Society of Dilettanti. Matthew Parker (1504-1575), archbishop of Canterbury, was not only a collector and editor of medieval English chronicles; he favored antiquarian studies, was probably an active participant in the founding of the 'Society of Antiquarians, but also the author of this work in which he set out to prove the early origin and continuity of the Anglican Church.