The Government of the Tongue, 1667 - a photo on Flickriver

This is the third in my trio of literary treasures owned for the nation by the British Library in London – and what we see here is a rare and beautiful goatskin-bound edition of The government of the tongue by Richard Allestree (1619-81), Professor of Divinity at Oxford and Provost of Eton.

The subject matter was the proper use of speech. Published in 1667, the book’s binding was tooled in gold with drawer-handle, flower and floral tools, then painted in black and grey.

This, plus other manuscripts, letters and books, was on display at a private event hosted by the British Library in London for the Friends of the Nations' Libraries (FNL), of which I’m a life member.

One of the reasons it was shown to us is that the book was acquired with the help of an FNL grant of £150 in 1963. And that’s the point of the FNL: the charity provides acquisition grants to national and regional archives, libraries and collections. It’s the equivalent of the Art Fund for rare books, manuscripts and fine bindings; being the son of a librarian, this is something close to my heart.

Photographed with permission, without flash

Taken in: UK / England / Camden / King's Cross (show map)

Taken on: September 24, 2025

Tags:

british library

book

richard allestree

book binding

goatskin

1667

17th century

FNL

friends of the nations libraries

literary heritage

english literature

oxford university

provost of eton

samsung galaxy S24

divinity

religion

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Camera: samsung Galaxy S24, f/1.8, 1/100 sec, 5.4mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	samsung Galaxy S24
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	5.4mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	PicMonkey https://www.picmonkey.com
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