THE TREASURY OF SACRED SONG
Selected from the English Lyrical Poetry of Four Centuries
With Notes Explanatory and Biographical
Francis T. Palgrave
Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1889

LIMITED LARGE-PAPER EDITION – No. 134 of only 585 copies – SIGNED BY PALGRAVE

A very scarce limited edition of Francis Turner Palgrave's celebrated anthology of English sacred poetry, issued by the Clarendon Press in 1889.

This is copy No. 134 of an edition limited to just 585 copies, with the limitation statement printed within the volume and signed in ink by Francis T. Palgrave. Other surviving examples confirm that this was the special numbered and signed large-paper issue of the work.

The volume is handsomely produced on substantial handmade paper with deckled edges, in its distinctive publisher's binding of quarter vellum with burgundy cloth-covered boards, the upper board lettered The Treasury of Sacred Song in gilt. The vellum spine is elaborately gilt decorated and lettered.

The title page is particularly attractive, printed in black within an ornamental red border.

Palgrave (1824–1897), Professor of Poetry at Oxford, is best remembered as the editor of the enormously influential Golden Treasury. The Treasury of Sacred Song was conceived as a major anthology of the finest English religious lyric poetry. Palgrave explains in his preface that his principal object was to select sacred verse according to its poetic merit — essentially "poetry for poetry's sake" — rather than simply compiling devotional material.

The collection ranges across approximately four centuries of English sacred poetry and includes writers such as George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, William Cowper, Robert Burns, Horatius Bonar, Christina Rossetti, John Henry Newman, William Blake and many others.

Provenance: An engraved armorial bookplate is mounted to the front pastedown, apparently that of the Gibson-Cullum family, together with an early handwritten ownership inscription, "Geo. Milner-Gibson-Cullum", dated March 7th 1890. This is an attractive provenance feature and appears contemporary with the publication of the book.

Condition: Good antiquarian condition overall. The original vellum has naturally toned and soiled with age, particularly to the spine, with rubbing/wear around the spine ends and extremities. Burgundy cloth boards show some surface marking and rubbing. Faded at top of front-board. Internally there is considerable browning/offsetting to the endpapers and some spotting/foxing, as shown. There are a couple of old archival-style tape repairs/reinforcements visible to a leaf in the photographs. Handmade paper retains its attractive deckled edges. Previous ownership inscription and armorial bookplate as described. The important numbered limitation leaf and Palgrave's signature are present. 

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.

Pagination: ix, 374 pages
Dimensions: approx. 228 × 198 × 36 mm
Weight: approx. 971 g

A genuinely scarce signed limited edition, considerably more desirable than the standard 1890 editions commonly encountered.