Westcott, Brooke. A General View of the History of the English Bible. London: Macmillan and Co., 1868. First Edition. (190 x 130 mm) 427 pp. Diced red calf ruled in gilt with gilt stamped ornamentation. Spine panels decorated with gilt stamps and title and author in one panel. Marbled pastedowns and fly leaves. Stamped turn ins and gauffered edges. Silk endbands and bookmark. Vanishing fore edge painting of an erotic scene by Martin Frost, after Thomas Rowlandson. Bookplate of Henry Montagu Butler, English clergyman, on front paste down. Some sun fade and rubbing to spine and boards, minor foxing internally. Overall VERY GOOD condition. The secret juxtaposition between the sacred and profane comes to the fore (edge) through the obscene scene superbly executed by Martin Frost, the last great fore edge painter. The first edition of Westcott’s theological work is enhanced by the (unsigned) fine binding and fore edge painting explicitly depicting various erotic acts between three ladies and two gentlemen.