TAYLOR, Jeremy. The Great Exemplar of Sanctity and Holy Life according to the Christian Institution; Described In the History of the Life and Death of the ever-Blessed Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World.

London: Printed by James Flesher, for Richard Royston, at the Sign of the Angel in S. Bartholomew’s Hospital, 1667 (MDCLXVII). Folio (12.5" x 8.5"). The Fourth Edition.

Author: Jeremy Taylor, Chaplain in Ordinary to King Charles I, and Lord Bishop of Down and Conner (1613–1667).

Title Details: In three parts, complete with divisional title pages for each part (The History of the Life and Death of the Holy Jesus...). Printed in red and black ink on the general title page.

Illustrated with 25 plates including the frontispiece, some folding, engraved by William Faithorne and Pierre Lombart depicting scenes from the life, passion, and ascension of Christ.

Beautifully rebound in full mottled/speckled calf. Raised bands accented with blind tooling to the spine, gilt corner flourishes and double-fillet borders on both covers, with gilt-tooled floral centerpieces along the spine compartments and a gilt-lettered direct-titled compartment ("THE GREAT EXEMPLAR – TAYLOR"). Boards slightly bowed.

Complete with clean, legible text blocks throughout and crisp typography. The engraved frontispiece and fold-out plates exhibit marginal fraying, edge wear, and tattering with minor paper loss confined mainly to outer margins. Early contemporary ownership signatures/flourishes in iron gall ink present to the upper margin of the main title page.

Jeremy Taylor, often referred to as the "Shakespeare of Divines" due to his poetic prose and rich imagery, first published The Great Exemplar in 1649. It stands as one of the most influential seventeenth-century devotional works in the English language, harmonizing historical gospel narrative with deep theological reflection and liturgical prayer. Faithorne’s copperplate engravings are among the finest masterworks of seventeenth-century British book illustration.