Vital Christianity. Essays and Discourses on the Religions of Man and the Religion of God. Translated, with an Introduction, by Robert Turnbull
London, James Blackwood, [early edition, circa 1850s].
Duodecimo, xxxii, [33]-323 pages plus a frontispiece ('Castle of Chillon').
Early half calf and marbled papered boards, all edges and endpapers marbled, with the spine extensively gilt-decorated in compartments with a contrasting title-label; leather a little rubbed at the extremities and bumped at the corners; marbled paper moderately rubbed and worn along the edges, with slight loss to the rear cover; early leaves slightly marked; a binder's blank at the rear has an internal tear; overall a very presentable copy.
The initial binder's blank is inscribed 'To Mrs Tennant, With Mary Gardner's Kindest Love. North Terrace. 28 Augst 1862'. With more than a little help from the 'Australian Dictionary of Biography', we have discovered this was a wedding present. On that day Rachael Christina Ferguson married a young Andrew Tennant (1835-1913), pastoralist and politician (Tennant Creek is named after his father). One of their daughters, Rosina Forsyth Tennant, married the pastoralist William Tennant Mortlock (yes, genealogy is sometimes confusing). One of their children was John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (1894-1950), pastoralist and philanthropist. He was the State Library of South Australia's most significant benefactor, and the Mortlock Wing is named after him.
Item #110032
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