Beautifully calligraphed late-18th-century compilation of prayers based on the popular "Andachts- and Gebetbuchen" published in Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries. The present manuscript was written by Johann Karl Erbes, who clearly took much care in producing this work. It contains every kind of prayer needed for practicing faith in everyday life.
With numerous 19th-century manuscript annotations in German on the first and last few blank pages (dated 1821-1862) reminiscent of notes written in family bibles, including 1 crossed out at the head of the page facing p. 206. Included between the last few blank pages is a manuscript prayer in German, written in minute cursive script on a folding piece of paper. The edges of the boards are very slightly rubbed, the spine shows clear signs of wear and the foot of the spine is slightly damaged with minor loss of material. A few minor wormholes in the front pastedown and first few leaves, barely affecting the 19th-century annotations, internally somewhat foxed and the pages have browned due to some ink corrosion (not affecting the general legibility of the text, but affecting the inner margins of pp. 197-202). Otherwise the work is in good condition. The slipcase is worn, with loss of material on most sides and with the head of the case completely gone. The work itself is a magnificent example of a late-18th-century manuscript prayer book in German, in a beautiful contemporary gold-tooled binding.