THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS, AND OTHER RITES AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH, ACCORDING TO THE USE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND; TOGETHER WITH THE PSALTER OR PSALMS OF DAVID...

London: Printed by John Baskett ... and by the Assigns of Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills ..., 1715.. [20,380],23,[3]pp. terminating at 3A4. Folio (465 x 285 mm). Contemporary black gilt paneled armorial goatskin, heavily gilt extra, a.e.g., marbled endsheets. Engraved frontispiece. Text in double columns, printed in black and red, the whole ruled in red. Spine and upper spine quadrant of upper board restored with black calf, edges of text block smoke-darkened, with occasional shallow isolated penetration into margins, early repair on verso of frontispiece, tidemark in upper forecorner/quadrant of last three text leaves and endleaves, small mend on verso of title at top margin, occasional hand-soiling and smudging, a few minor marginal nicks or short tears; in spite of these detractions, in the main a bright, crisp copy. One of two large folio printings of The Book of Common Prayer published by Baskett in 1715, this being the form that terminates at 3A4. This copy was associated with the family and descendants of Henry Clinton, seventh Earl of Lincoln (1684 - 1728) and his wife Lucy, daughter of the first Baron Pelham. Inserted in the front are two conjugate sheets of paper (one blank), and laid in are two folio sheets of vellum (a bit stained along the top edges). The latter are occupied on three sides with a manuscript family record, written at various times and in various hands (including births, deaths, marriages, etc) from 1744 through the death in 1794 of Henry Fienes Pelham Clinton, Duke of Newcastle. The first of the inserted paper leaves is of perhaps greater interest, as it bears a fifteen line manuscript account by White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, signed and with his seal, of his baptism at the Parish of St. James, in Westminster, on 12 February 1718/19, of the Clinton's first son, George, for whom "His Excellent Majestie King George was Graciously Pleased to do this Honour ... to stand Godfather in his own Royal Person and to give him His own Royal Name of George...." Apart from his clerical responsibilities, Kennett (1660 - 1728) was an active antiquary, with particular interest in events in North America. He gave his extensive collection of Americana to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1712, with the intention that the gift should be accompanied by a printed catalogue of the collection. This wish was thwarted for a while by the decision to have Robert Watts compile what became an extensive and essential index of 223pp. Kennett had in the meantime continued his collecting at a pace which necessitated the inclusion of 55-page appendix and the catalogue was finally published in 1713 [as BIBLIOTHECÆ AMERICANÆ PRIMORDIA. AN ATTEMPT TOWARDS LAYING THE FOUNDATION OF AN AMERICAN LIBRARY, IN SEVERAL BOOKS, PAPERS, AND WRITINGS, HUMBLY GIVEN TO THE SOCIETY FOR PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL IN FOREIGN PARTS...By a Member of the said Society. London: Printed for J. Churchill, 1713]. The result is the best catalogue of books relating to America extant, [arranged in chronological order], the titles being copied at full length with the greatest exactness, together with the name of the printer, and the number of pages in each volume. It is rich in English tracts relating to New England" - Rich. GRIFFITHS 1715.1. ESTC T81463.