The Christian Year John Keble 1840 Full Leather Scott Bookplate Gilt AEG
 
The Christian Year 1840 By John Keble
Published by John Henry Parker; and J.G. & F. Rivington, London – 1840
Printed by T. Combe, Printer to the University of Oxford
 
Edition & Bibliographic Details
 
Nineteenth Edition of this celebrated devotional work, first published anonymously in 1827 and long attributed to John Keble, Fellow of Oriel College and leading figure of the Oxford Movement. This 1840 Parker/Rivington printing represents an early and desirable edition, printed for Oxford by T. Combe, and produced in a high-quality full-leather binding intended for the Victorian gift market.
 
Physical Description
 
Format: Octavo
Binding: Full dark green grained leather
Decoration: Ornate gilt decorations on the boards; blind-stamped panel lines; gilt and blind tooling to the finely panelled spine; five raised bands
Edges: All edges gilt
Endpapers: Yellow-coated Victorian endpapers
Pagination: viii + 378pp
Illustrations: None (as issued)
Dimensions: approx. 22 × 14.5 × 2.9 cm
Weight: approx. 699g
 
Key Features
 
Handsome contemporary full-leather Victorian binding
Early Oxford edition printed by T. Combe
Attractive gilt tooling, raised bands, and all-edge gilt (AEG)
Includes a 19th-century armorial bookplate of the Scott family
Manuscript inscription dated 1848
Clean, bright text for its age
 
Provenance
 
This copy bears a 19th-century armorial bookplate depicting the shield Sable, a saltire engrailed Argent with a crest of a cubit arm holding a document above a coronet. This heraldic design matches the arms of the Scott family, examples of which appear in institutional collections such as the Bodleian Library and the University of Illinois.
Although this specific plate is unnamed, its heraldry confirms it originates from the same Scott family line recorded under the name Samuel Scott in documented bookplates. On the facing endpaper, a manuscript ownership inscription reads:
“Thomas Scott, 1848.”
This suggests the volume remained within the Scott family during the mid-19th century.
 
Exterior Condition
 
A well-preserved Victorian full-leather binding, robust and handsome:
Light rubbing to edges and corners
Soft bumping to corners
Rubbing along the spine’s long edges
Small scattered patches of surface wear
Gilt decoration bright and attractive
Hinges holding well
All edge gilt still bright
 
Interior Condition
 
Yellow-coated endpapers with light foxing
Armorial bookplate to front pastedown
Inscription “Thomas Scott 1848” on the front free endpaper
Pages overall clean, fresh, and unusually bright for 1840
Occasional small marks or very light foxing
Very occasional small crease
Small amount of pen on p.291 (not affecting text)
Minor remnants of pencil in a few places
Page 12 misnumbered as 13 (a known misprint; text correct)
Small marginal tears on p.6 (not affecting text)
Tiny hole to the inner margin of p.378 and overleaf (not affecting text)
Small repair near the inner margin of p.23
Crack between front pastedown and free endpaper
Besides the above, the binding sound and text block secure throughout
 
Completeness
 
All viii + 378 pages present
No missing leaves
All original endpapers retained
No illustrations were issued with this edition
 
Collector’s Summary
 
A handsome 1840 full-leather Oxford edition of The Christian Year, enriched with a verified Scott family armorial bookplate and an inscription dated 1848. This copy combines literary significance, early Oxford printing, and genuine 19th-century provenance. In robust and attractive condition, this is a notable example suitable for collectors of devotional literature, Oxford Movement history, Victorian bindings, or heraldic bookplates.