Velvet Cushion, The
- London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, and J. Hatchard, by G. Sidney, 1815
London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, and J. Hatchard, by G. Sidney, 1815. A 19th Century Best-Seller
From the Hanoverian Royal Library at Marienberg
[ROYAL BINDING]. CUNNINGHAM, J. W. The Velvet Cushion. Seventh edition. London, for T. Cadell and W. Davies, and J. Hatchard, by G. Sidney, 1815.
Twelvemo, (187 x 118 mm). Near-contemporary dark green cloth, front cover with the royal arms of Britain and Hanover stamped in blind, back cover with blind central cartouche, spines titled in gilt with large gilt ornaments either side, red sprinkled edges, from the Hanoverian royal library at Marienberg with pencilled shelf-mark on the inside front cover of vol. I. A few scattered spots internally, but still a fine fresh copy, the binding almost as new.
This copy's royal Hanoverian binding and provenance elevate an already influential work into a rare survival at the intersection of religion, politics, and monarchy in Regency Britain - an unusually tangible witness to the reach of evangelical literature at the highest levels of society.
First published the previous year, The Velvet Cushion - subtitled "An Historical Account of the Divisions within the Church of England since the Reformation" - proved an immediate and sustained success, passing through eleven editions in just three years. Blending fiction with pointed ecclesiastical commentary, Cunningham used the novel form as a vehicle for evangelical critique and instruction, a strategy that ensured wide circulation well beyond clerical readership.
John William Cunningham (1780-1861) was one of the leaders of the evangelical movement in the mid-19th century and a strong supporter of the Church Missionary Society. He served as curate to John Venn at Clapham parish church, the epicentre of the famous Clapham sect, and portrays Venn in the book as Berkely. Frances Trollope, who lived in Clapham, took a pot-shot at evangelicalism in general and Velvet Cunningham in particular in her scurrilous novel The Vicar of Wrexhill (1837), earning her a magisterial rebuke from Samuel Wilberforce himself for 'a most abominable personal attack'.
From the Hanoverian Royal Library at Marienberg
[ROYAL BINDING]. CUNNINGHAM, J. W. The Velvet Cushion. Seventh edition. London, for T. Cadell and W. Davies, and J. Hatchard, by G. Sidney, 1815.
Twelvemo, (187 x 118 mm). Near-contemporary dark green cloth, front cover with the royal arms of Britain and Hanover stamped in blind, back cover with blind central cartouche, spines titled in gilt with large gilt ornaments either side, red sprinkled edges, from the Hanoverian royal library at Marienberg with pencilled shelf-mark on the inside front cover of vol. I. A few scattered spots internally, but still a fine fresh copy, the binding almost as new.
This copy's royal Hanoverian binding and provenance elevate an already influential work into a rare survival at the intersection of religion, politics, and monarchy in Regency Britain - an unusually tangible witness to the reach of evangelical literature at the highest levels of society.
First published the previous year, The Velvet Cushion - subtitled "An Historical Account of the Divisions within the Church of England since the Reformation" - proved an immediate and sustained success, passing through eleven editions in just three years. Blending fiction with pointed ecclesiastical commentary, Cunningham used the novel form as a vehicle for evangelical critique and instruction, a strategy that ensured wide circulation well beyond clerical readership.
John William Cunningham (1780-1861) was one of the leaders of the evangelical movement in the mid-19th century and a strong supporter of the Church Missionary Society. He served as curate to John Venn at Clapham parish church, the epicentre of the famous Clapham sect, and portrays Venn in the book as Berkely. Frances Trollope, who lived in Clapham, took a pot-shot at evangelicalism in general and Velvet Cunningham in particular in her scurrilous novel The Vicar of Wrexhill (1837), earning her a magisterial rebuke from Samuel Wilberforce himself for 'a most abominable personal attack'.
Details
Title
Velvet Cushion, The
Author
ROYAL BINDING; Cunningham, J.W.
Condition
Unknown
Publisher
London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, and J. Hatchard, by G. Sidney, 1815