1796 – PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS COMPOSED BY SAMUEL JOHNSON By George Strahan. 
 
Published from Samuel Johnson’s Manuscripts – RARE CALF LEATHER Antiquarian Book. With Pp.192 + xx. FOURTH EDITION. 
 
Published in 1796 by H. Colbert, No. 136, Capel -Street, Dublin. 
 
George Strahan was the Vicar of Islington, Middlesex, and Rector of Cranham in Essex. 
 
It is with a BOOKPLATE FOR WILLIAM TIGHE, together with the Tighe family crest, TIGHTLY BOUND IN THICK CALF LEATHER, and a panelled spine with gilt tooling, and remnants of a gilt title. 
 
This is a fascinating book, now NEARLY 230 YEARS OLD as so quite historically important. 
 
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was an influential English writer, lexicographer, and critic. He is best known for his dictionary, A Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755, which was one of the first comprehensive dictionaries in English and significantly shaped the development of the language. 
 
This does not contain a Dust Jacket. 
 
THE COVER IS INTACT, ROBUST, although there is age-related wear. This includes bumping and rubbing at the corners, patches of heavy rubbing and scratches on the boards, and chipping on the spine. Please see the photographs provided for further reference. 
 
Inside, the pages are tanned, with light crinkling. There are several small or light marks and the occasional folds on the pages, but overall, for a book of this age, the pages are in a neat state (see photos as examples). A few pages have a very small hole near their edge and a couple further have small rips at their corners, which do not affect the text. The pages are all tightly bound and secure. There is a small amount of pen written on the front pastedown, remnants of pen on the back pastedown, and pen inscriptions for “Sarah St. George” on the title page. There are no further pen or pencil marks inside this book. ON THE FRONT PASTEDOWN THERE IS A BOOKPLATE PASTED FOR ‘WILLIAM TIGHE’, TOGETHER WITH A CREST OF ARMS. There was a long line of politicians named William Tighe. William Tighe (1738-82) was an Irish landowner and MP and friend of John Wesley, his son, William Tighe (1766-1816) was an Irish politician, landowner and topographer, and his son, William Frederick Fownes Tighe (c.1794-1878), who was Lord Lieutenant of Kilkenny from 1847 to 1878. The bookplate pasted in this book could be for either of the younger Williams or one of their descendants. There are NO MISSING PAGES, and ALL 192 PAGES plus xx. are present. 
 
PLEASE STUDY THE PHOTOS CAREFULLY AS TO THE CONDITION OF THIS BOOK, AS THEY DO FORM PART OF THE DESCRIPTION. 
 
This measures approximately 17.3 cm by 10.8 cm and 2.4 cm wide. It weighs approximately 238 grams. 
 
Thank you for looking.