From time to time, I consult Percy Dearmer‘s The Parson’s Handbook to test the standards of liturgical norms. I don’t always agree with him — little wonder as we come from very different places within Christianity — but you can’t fault him for his thoroughness and style. (To tell you the truth, I read it for pleasure, as I do travel guides and cookbooks.)
The book went through twelve editions in his lifetime, with a thirteenth (heavily altered, I gather) thereafter. Some are in the public domain, and I’m making a list below as a directory.
- 1899, second edition. https://archive.org/details/theparsonshandbo00dearuoft
- 1902, fourth edition (United Kingdom). https://archive.org/details/parsonshandbookc00dear
- 1902, fourth edition (United States). https://archive.org/details/parsonshandbook00deargoog
- 1907, sixth edition. https://archive.org/details/parsonshandbookc00dearuoft