Calvin, John; Thomas Norton trans.

THE INSTITUTION OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION [Institutes]

Anne Griffin for Joyce Norton and R. Whitaker, 1634. Leather. [20], 749pp. + [159pp. 'Table' (index) unpaginated]. Folio, complete: *1-*4, A1-A4, [in sixes thereafter] B1-Z6, Aa1-Zz6, Aaa1-Zzz6, Aaaa1-Gggg6, Hhhh1-Hhhh4 7.5' x 11.25', contemporary calf rebacked in sympathetic lighter brown calf with burgundy morocco spine label stamped and ruled in gilt, other 5 panels ruled in blind. Ruled single-column text with marginal references and running header, Index 'table' in dual columns, woodcut headpieces. Edges rubbed with some abrasion to the tips and a bit of worming to the leather of the front board at the fore tail corner; architectural title page intact with some modest foxing; worming to the upper margin of pp. 13-100 and a single wormhole pp. 255-272 to the top right corner, neither affecting the text; text block in its original trim with red edges, a few trivial tidemarks to the edges but on the whole a very clean and sound copy with crisp, fresh pages. 'Calvin's 'Institution of the Christian Religion' was the first systematic statement of a Reformed Church. It is the most important doctrinal work of the Reformation as a whole and provided a comprehensive theological system rivalling those of the Middle Ages' (Printing and the Mind of Man 65) [ESTC S107163] This edition is notable for being printed by a woman, namely Anne Griffin who took over her deceased husband's press in 1621. A Calvinist herself, Griffin was deposed of her press in 1637 by Archbishop Laud, convicted of disseminating seditious and nonconformist religious material. '. Pieces like the Institution of the Christian Religion ... were a part of [Griffin's] theological work which provided criticism of both the church and the state. Griffin risked her career to publish pro-protestant texts. In 1637 she was officially reprimanded by Archbishop Laud who threatened to close her press for sedition because she had printed Thomas Becon's Displaying of the Popish Masse which called into question the sanctity of the Catholic tradition. While any printer could lose their press to such charges, British law stipulated that women in particular could control the shops of their deceased husbands’ only as long as their work was in line with the values of those in power. This elevated the stakes for women like Griffin who challenged authority with their printing. Griffin was a part of a network of women in print. She frequently collaborated with publisher Anne Boler and trained her daughter-in-law Sarah Griffin who would eventually takeover the press.' (Feminist Bibliography Project, Huron University). VERY GOOD. Item #515291

Price: $3,500.00