The Fame of Blessed Thomas More; Being Addresses Delivered in His Honour in Chelsea, July 1929
London: Sheed and Ward, 1929. First edition. Octavo, original orange cloth stamped in blue. Slight toning to spine, cloth boards bright, corners sharp. A near-fine copy. Item #1378
"MORE HAS BECOME A SAINT OF WHOM THE WHOLE OF ENGLAND IS PROUD"
First edition of this celebration of then-Blessed Thomas More—including addresses given by Ronald Knox, Hilaire Belloc, and G.K. Chesterton. A beautiful copy.
An exhibition devoted to Thomas More was held at London's Beaufort Street Shrine in July 1929. In addition to Knox, Belloc, and Chesterton, the speakers included: Lord Justice Russell, Henry Browne, Reginald Blunt, and Bede Jarrett. The editor, Professor R.W. Chambers, has contributed a lengthy introductory essay: Sir Thomas More's fame among his countrymen. The exhibition was organized to aid "the Beaufort Street Convent, where the Sisters in charge of the Shrine, maintain ceaseless adoration, by day and by night in reparation for the national crime of the Blessed Martyr's execution."
The addresses are supplemented with two appendices describing the relics, images, and books displayed in the exhibition. Appendix I: Catalogue of Relics, Portraits, Prints, Books, Documents, and other Memorials of Sir Thomas More, and Appendix II: A Short Bibliography of books relating to the Martyr, compiled by W. E. Campbell. The front board is stamped with a coat-of-arms designed by Major Shepard, "reproduced by courtesy of the Artist and the Universe." Canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935, More is venerated as the patron saint of politicians, statesmen, and lawyers. Without the scarce original dust jacket.
Price: $100.00