Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Interesting works from Spire Books

The Early Publications of the Cambridge Camden Society looks at how a group of Cambridge scholars radically re-catholicized the order and decoration of Anglican parishes throughout the world in fairly short order. This book re-publishes a number of the early tracts/pamplhets of the Society (also known as the Ecclesiological Society). As you can imagine there were contacts with the Oxford Movement and AWN Pugin even designed their logo. I mention this particular work because from our perspective, in effect we are in many ways trying a similar project with regards our churches and with regards liturgy. Perhaps there is inspiration to be had here?





From a Catholic perspective, another rare offering from this same publisher worth mentioning while we're at it is AWN Pugin's "True Principles of Christian Architecture" and "Contrasts", delightfully binded in hardcover green cloth with a gold embossed image of Pugin's crest on the front.

Pugin was perhaps known for his over-zealousness with regards the Gothic, being criticized, if I recall correct, by Cardinal Newman for his excess this way. However, the quality of his art and design is interesting, so too is his thought, which, for all its excess, has some fruit within it.

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