Victorian books with spines of 10mm

 

Books with spines of 10mm

@02012024 Images: © The British Library Board; © The British Museum

Search of ca. 1500 records in my list of books for the text string “10mm”, yields some 30 citations/ books

Introduction

There have always been books bound with only a small amount of print within. Pamphlets, sermons, religious works (e. g. single books/ chapters from the Old/ New Testaments), auction catalogues – often these have been bound “bespoke”, and many have consequentially narrow spines. In the UK, in times before the rise of edition cloth binding cases, the lettering was tooled on a leather spine. (Alternatively, paper labels with details of author and/ or title were pasted to the spine.)

As cloth and paper were used for book covers from the 1830s onwards, so cases were made before attachment to text blocks; and gilt letters and other decoration was applied to spines, most likely by adapted arming presses. From a file of some 1,500 records, a string search of “10mm” yields just over thirty results. The results include a few books with paper over boards; there were probably many thousands of cheaper publications bound using paper of varying thickness, with printed decoration and lettering. The records and pictures below are listed by date of publication. This small sample shows that good, legible results of printing or of blocking were created for narrow spines. (Pictures are presented before the descriptive entry.)

 

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C.109.ff.24. Thomas Gray. Poems by Mr. T. Gray. Containing, I. Ode on the Spring, … VI. Elegy written in a Country Churchyard. Dublin: Printed for George and Alexander Ewing, at the Angel and Bible in Dame Street.  1756. 31p. With one page of publisher’s titles printed on the verso of page 31. 106x165x10mm.

References: Ecroyd Family:  https://www.houseofnames.com/ecroyd-family-crest

Notes: Pink endpapers and pastedowns. The turn-ins have a gilt repeating pattern of pairs of ‘flowers and small shrubs’. The upper pastedown has the bookplate of Geoffrey Ecroyd, a coat of arms with the motto: “In veritate victoria”.  The second bookplate is of Roger Senhouse. The upper endpaper has the ink stamp: “/ Bound by V. A. Brown, / Hildenborough, Kent Eng./” The size of the stamp is: 30x4mm. Full blue morocco. A single rule in gold is tooled on the outer and inner borders. On the corners of the inner border, floral ornament is in gold. The spine is tooled in gold; at the head and at the tail, there is small ornament. The words: “/ Poems by Mr. T. Gray. – Dublin, 1756/” are tooled in gold along the spine. Text copyright Edmund M B king.

11687.a.28. Charles Wheeler DENISON. The American Village; and other poems. Boston: Henry B. Skinner & Co., 39 Merchants Row. 1845. [Boston:] Howe’s Sheet Anchor Press, 39 Merchants Row. 143p. 1 Plate.105x165x10mm.

Notes: The blocking of the covers appears to have been done after the covers were attached to the text block. Cream endpapers and pastedowns. Binder’s blind oval stamp on upper endpaper: “/ B. Bradley [& Co.?]/ Binder/ Boston/”. Purple bead grain cloth. Both covers blocked identically in blind. Three rules to the borders. Leaf and stem patterns are blocked on each corner. On the centre, a pattern of lattice work is blocked within floral/ ornamental frame.  The spine is blocked in gold. Near the head, the words:”/ Denison’s / Poems/” are blocked in gold. Beneath this, an urn is blocked, full of flowers. More dense plant and stems are blocked down the spine, with a bird in flight and a rabbit being blocked within ‘spade-shaped’ panels. Text copyright Edmund M B King.

 

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11645.a.13. James Spilling. The Spirit of the Seasons, and other poems. London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; Ipswich: J. M. Burton and Co. 1850. Ipswich: Printed by J. M. Burton and Co.  xii,82p. 110x165x10mm.      

Notes: Gilt edges. Yellow endpapers and pastedowns. Pink coloured binder’s ticket on lower pastedown: “/ Bound/ by J. Brook/ Ipswich./” The ticket has been imperfectly trimmed at its head. Light green morocco vertical grain cloth. Both covers blocked with the same decoration in blind – rules to borders and plant ornament on each corner. The upper vignette shows a floral wreath, with the title words: “/ Spirit/ of the/ Seasons/” blocked in gold within it. Spine missing. Text copyright Edmund M B King.

 

11646.e.22. James Orton. The Enthusiast: or, the Straying Angel. A poem. By James Orton. (“Alastor”) Author of “Excelsior”. London: William Pickering. 1852. London: C. Whitttingham, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane, 67p. 143x195x10mm.          

References: William Harry Rogers. Victorian Book Designer and Star of the Great Exhibition. Lewes: Unicorn, 2023. Appendix A. Gallery of Book Covers, no. 15. Copy bound in blue cloth.

Notes: Yellow end papers and pastedowns. Binder’s ticket on lower pastedown: “/ Bound by/ Bone & Son/ [rule]/ 76, Fleet street, / London./” [Ball no. 17A.] Binder’s ticket size: 20x10mm. Red rib vertical grain cloth. Both covers have a gilt single rule frame on the borders, with sprays of (passion?) flowers blocked in gold on each corner. The lower cover has a broken lily on its centre, in gold. The upper central vignette  has a wreath of stems leaves, and flowers, within which the title words: “/ The/ Enthusiast;/ or/ The Straying Angel./” are blocked in gold. Signed at the base of the vignette “WHR” as a monogram. The spine is blocked in gold. From tail to head a lily-like plant is blocked, with the title words: “/The enthusiast or the Straying Angel/ “ are blocked along its length. Pages 64 to 67 contain the ‘Opinions of the Press’ regarding Orton’s earlier work “Excelsior”, which is advertised as: ‘Just Published, Second Edition, small 4to, price 6s.’ Text copyright Edmund M B King.

 

BM P & D 1992,0406.50; BL1347.h.18. Campbell, Thomas. The pleasures of hope. Illustrated by Birket Foster, George Thomas, and Harrison Weir. London: Sampson, Low and Son, 47 Ludgate Hill, 1855. [London:] R. Clay, printer, Bread Street Hill.  [4], 59p. 137x204x10mm.The title page verso has the monogram of Joseph Cundall. The illustrations are drawn by Birket Foster, Harrison Weir, George Thomas. The illustrations are engraved by: Edmund Evans, Horace Harrild, William Measom, W. T. Green, James Cooper, Thomas Bolton, and J. Greenaway. The illustration on page one is drawn by Birket Foster, and is entitled: “At summer’s eve, when Heaven’s aerial bow”. Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the front endpaper recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front pastedown, together with the bookplate of W. Clafton. Inscribed on the title page:  “/ Louisa Hammond Haigh, January/ 1856./”

Binding: Gilt edges. Bevelled boards. White endpapers and pastedowns. Bright green morocco vertical-grain cloth. Both covers are blocked identically in blind only on  the borders, and on the corners. Three fillets are blocked on the borders. A pattern of curling stems, of leaves are blocked on each corner, and inside this, more ‘branch-like’ fillets form the central panel, ending in small strap work on  the centre head and the centre tail – the whole forming an ornamental frame. On the upper cover the central vignette is blocked in gold. It has the title words: “/ The/ Pleasures of Hope [in a semi-circle]/ by/ Thomas Campbell./” are blocked in gold in Gothic letters. The capital letters have tendrils and strap work is blocked underneath these words. The spine is blocked in gold. Near the head, the title words: “/ The/ Pleasures/ of/ Hope/” are blocked in gold in Gothic lettering, with small straps in gold underneath the word “Hope”.

BM P&D 1992, 0406.362 BL: 1856: C.30.h.7. [not in BL database] Songs of the brave. The soldier’s dream, and other poems and odes by Campbell, Wolfe, Collins, Byron, Tennyson, and Mackay. Illustrated with twenty-six engravings, from drawings by Edward Duncan, Birket Foster [i.e. Myles Birket Foster], George Thomas [i.e. probably George Housman Thomas], etc. [Monogram of Joseph Cundall.] London: Sampson, Low, Son & Co., 47 Ludgate Hill, 1856. [London:] R. Clay, printers, Bread Street Hill. 46p. 142x202x10mm. With two pages of publisher’s titles bound at the end. In the [list of] Illustrations, the artist not listed on the title page is  A. Huttala. ‘The Head and Tail Pieces drawn by Thomas Macquoid. Engraved by Horace Harral, Edmund Evans, and James Cooper.’ The Illustration on page 38 is after A. Huttala, with the caption in the List of Illustrations: ‘Ring the joy-bells, light the blaze.’; and on page 38 the title is: ‘The joy-bell and the requiem’. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down.

Binding: The upper cover vignette is after William Harry Rogers. Gilt edges. Yellow endpapers and pastedowns. Blue wave diagonal-grain cloth. Both covers blocked identically in blind. Three fillets are blocked in blind on the borders. A pattern of intertwined stems and leaves is blocked on each corner, together with a laurel wreath on each corner. Stems and leaves are blocked on each side. [This is the same blocking as for RdeB.K.24.] The upper cover vignette is blocked in gold. It shows stems forming a circle, with small leaves and buds off the stems. The title: "/ The Soldier's Dream [in a semi-circle]/ and/ Other Poems./" is blocked in gold in gothic letters above and below the centre. On the centre, a hussar's helmet, a sword, and an anchor are all blocked in gold. Signed "WHR" in gold as a monogram at the base of the vignette. The spine is blocked in gold. The title: "/ The/ Soldier's/ Dream./ &c./" is blocked in gold in gothic letters, with branch, stem, and leaf decoration blocked between, above and below the letters.

 

1992,0406.65; BL 11633.c.14. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. The rime of the ancient mariner. Illustrated. [the monogram of Joseph Cundall is printed on the title page verso.] London: Sampson, Low, Son & Co. 47, Ludgate Hill, 1857. London: R. Clay, printer, Bread Street Hill. The list of illustrations on pp. iii-iv states that these were drawn by E. H. Wehnert [i. e. Edward Henry Wehnert]; Birket Foster; E. Duncan [ i.e. Edward Duncan]. They were “engraved by Horace Harral and Edmund Evans.” Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the front endpaper verso. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front pastedown. 140x202x10mm.

Binding: Gilt edges. Bevelled boards. Endpapers and pastedowns decorated with a leaf pattern. Both covers are blocked identically in blind on the borders and on the corners. Two fillets are blocked on the borders. Insider this, a pattern of seaweed stems of seaweed leaves, and a single shell on each corner is blocked – all forming an ornamental frame. The upper cover central decoration is blocked in gold. We see a ‘rising sun’ shedding its rays above seawater, which has vertical strands of sea plants reaching downwards. There are two eels blocked in gold amongst this vertical weed. At the base an albatross, with its neck twisted on itself into a knot, lies limply. The title words are blocked in gold amongst all this decoration, in Goth lettering: “/ The Rime of/ the/ Ancient Mariner/” The spine is blocked in gold. The title words: “/ The/ Ancient/ Mariner/ Coleridge/” are blocked in gold in Gothic lettering, surrounded by similar seaweed decoration as for the upper cover.

BM P&D 1992,0406.396; BL: 1266.e.26. Warton, Thomas. The Hamlet.  An ode written in Whichwood Forest. Illustrated with fourteen etchings by Birket Foster [i.e. Myles Birket Foster]. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Co. 1859. 14p. 142x205x10mm.  Text printed only on each recto. Robin de Beaumont’s notes regarding the price of this copy are on the front endpaper recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down. The illustration on page 1 is after Foster.

Binding: Gutta-percha binding. The upper cover vignette is designed by William Harry Rogers. Grey endpapers and pastedowns. Green sand-grain cloth. Rules and small corner decoration are blocked in blind on both covers. The upper cover central vignette is a diamond-shape, and the words: “/ The Hamlet/ an ode/ By Thomas Warton/ Illustrated with Etchings/ by / Birket Foster/” are blocked in gold, in ‘mediaeval’ style letters, surrounded by small foliage – also blocked in gold. Signed “WHR” [i.e. William Harry Rogers] in gold as a monogram at the base of the vignette. The spine is not blocked.

11647.de.16. John Benjamin Kerridge. Eden, and other poems. Weymouth: Printed and published by J. A. Buck, St. Thomas Street. 1861. viii, 120p. 118x168x12mm. Ticket size: 15x10mm.           

References: A citation of his name in: https://www.opcdorset.org/WeymouthMelcombeFiles/1851MelcombeRegisD3d.htm

Notes: Cream endpapers and pastedowns. Pink dyed binder’s ticket on lower pastedown: “/ J. A. Buck/ Printer/ Binder &c/” Purple morocco horizontal grain cloth. The lower cover is blocked with the same design as for the upper cover. On the upper cover, blocked in gold, there are rules on the borders with a repeating floral  pattern, and then repeating cartouches inside these. On the centre, the title: “/ Eden/ and other/ poems./” is blocked in gold. The spine is blocked in gold. From the base upwards, a lily-like plant is blocked. Near the head, the title: “/Eden/ and other/ poems/” is blocked in gold. More small floral decoration at the head. Text copyright Edmund M B King.

 

 

BM 1992, 0406.373; BL: 1347.i.18. Tennyson, Alfred. The May Queen. Illustrated by E. V. B. [i.e. Eleanor Vere Boyle]. London: Sampson, Low, Son, & Co., 47, Ludgate Hull, 1861.London: R. Clay, printer, Bread Street Hill. 40p. 161x215x10mm. The illustration on page 16 is after Boyle, with verse printed above and below it. Robin de Beaumont’s notes regarding the price of this copy are on the front endpaper verso. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down. Inscribed on the front endpaper recto: “/ [To] Sarah Angelina Acland/ from a kind Lady that had a good/ [not readable] while Mrs Sheffington/ Christmas Day 1861./” Bookplate on upper pastedown, with the inscription: “/ This/ Book/ belonged to/ S. A. Acland/ It is given in her memory to/ Betty/ by her brother/ Betty’s Great Uncle/ H W Acland/ 1931 Jany 26/” 

For descriptive details of the binder’s ticket, see: Ball, Douglas. Victorian publishers’ bindings. London, Library Association, 1985, Appendix E, Nineteenth Century Edition Binders’ Signatures.

Binding: The binding is possibly by Albert Warren. Gilt edges. Bevelled boards. Yellow endpapers and pastedowns. Binder’s ticket on lower pastedown: “/ Bound by/ Bone & Son/ 76, Fleet St. London./” [Ball no. 17C.] Blue morocco vertical-grain cloth. Both covers are blocked identically in blind and in relief on the borders, corners and sides, with stems leaves and flowers curling round a frame. On the upper cover, within an arabesque formed by a single gold fillet, the words: “/ The/ May Queen/ by/ Alfred Tennyson/ Illustrated by E. V. B./” Are blocked in gold in rustic, ‘gothic’ letters. The spine is blocked in gold and in relief. Gold fillets and small gold decoration are blocked across the spine at the head and at the tail. Down the spine, flowers stems and leaves are blocked in gold. A scroll is held by these, and, within it, the title words: “The May Queen” are blocked in relief. Signed “AW” [i.e.  possibly Albert Henry Warren] in gold as separate letters near the tail.

BL 11603.ccc.6. Shakspere’s Songs and Sonnets. Illustrated by John Gilbert. London: Sampson Low, Marstson, Low and Searle, Crown Buildings, 188, Fleet Street. [1863]. [London:] R. Clay, sons, and Taylor, Printers. 56p. 125x180x10mm.

References: For descriptive details of the binder’s ticket, see: Ball, Douglas. Victorian publishers’ bindings. London, Library Association, 1985, Appendix E, Nineteenth Century Edition Binders’ Signatures.

 

Notes: Beige endpapers and pastedowns. Binder’s ticket on lower pastedown: “/ Bound by/ Burn/ & Co./” [Ball no. 20E] Red rib diagonal grain cloth. The lower cover is blocked in blind with rule frames on the borders, and the publisher’s device blocked on the centre. The upper cover is blocked in gold and in black. Three black rules on the borders, with a with a profusion of stems, leaves in black, and flower petals in gold. In two cartouches near the head, the words:” The/ Choice Series/” are blocked in relief. The central rectangle is a gold lettering-piece, with a rule border in black, and with  the words: “/ Shakspeare’s/ Songs/ and/ Sonnets” picked out in relief. Below the centre, a rectangular gold cartouche has the words: “/ Theirs for their style I’ll read, his for his love./” The spine has the title blocked in black along its length. Text copyright Edmund M B King.

 

 

 

C.194.a.171. Wood, John George. Rowing and Sailing. By the author of “Athletic Sports and Recreations, “British Rural Sports,” etc., etc.  [i.e. J. G. Wood]. London: Routledge, Warne, and Routledge, Farringdon Street. 1863. London: Dalziel Brothers, Camden Press. [1], 92p. With four pages of publisher’s titles bound at the end.  95x143x10mm.

Notes: Inscribed on the upper endpaper recto: “/ Cherry Britton/ 27 Orient Gdns/ Belfast/” and inscribed on the upper pastedown: “/ Wm. Jackson Pigott/ Dublin/ 1864/” Pink/ beige endpapers and pastedowns. Printed yellow paper over boards. The lower cover  has a list of publisher’s titles. The upper cover shows a young man rowing, with a sailing boat in the background. At the head, the series title: “/ Routledge’s Sixpenny Handbooks’ is printed. At the tail, the imprint is: “London: Routledge, Warne, & Routledge./” Along the spine, the words: “/ Rowing  and Sailing – Sixpence./” are printed.

 

C.194.a.172. Routledge, Edmund. The handbook of cricket. London: Routledge, Warne, and Routledge, 6, Farringdon Street. 1862. London: Camden Press. 64p. 95x143x10mm.

Notes: Inscribed on the upper endpaper recto: “/ Wm. J. Pigott/ Mill Grove/” Inscribed on the upper pastedown: “/ Cherry Britton/ 27 Orient Gdns/ Belfast/”. Yellow endpaper and pastedowns at the front; original white pastedown at the rear. Printed yellow paper over boards. The lower cover  has printed advertisements of the publisher, including the series: ‘ Routledge’s Sixpenny Handbooks’. The upper cover shows a cricket field, with a pavilion tent in the background. In the foreground, a bowler hold his right arm, ball in hand, over a set of stumps (as though in the act of bowling). At the head and at the tail, the words: “/ Routledge’s sixpenny handbooks./ Cricket/ by/ Edmund Routledge/ Price sixpence/ London. Routledge, Warne, & Routledge./” are printed. Along the spine are printed the words: “/ Cricket. – Sixpence./”

 

 

BM P&D 1996,1104.21; [not in BL?] Hood, Thomas. The song of the shirt and other poems. New York: Bunce & Huntington, Publishers, 1865. 96p. 2 plates. 120x172x10mm.  The half title page has an illustration, which is signed with the monogram “WT” [i.e. probably Francis William Topham]. The plate between pages 24 and 25 is signed: “John Andrew”. Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the front endpaper recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front pastedown.

Binding: Cream endpapers and pastedowns. Stamped on the front pastedown: “/ Hammann’s/ Book Bindery/ Easton, P.A./” Brown sand-grain cloth. A single fillet is blocked in blind on the borders of both covers. On the centre of the upper cover, the title: “/ Song/ of the shirt./” is blocked in gold. There is no blocking on the spine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_William_Topham

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Topham,_Francis_William_(DNB00)

 

 

BM P&D 1996,1104.47; BL 12804.b.52. 1858 A and C Black. Swift, Jonathan. A Voyage to Lilliput by Lemuel Gulliver. With a sketch of the life of Jonathan Swift. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1865. Edinburgh: Ballantyne & Company, Printers. [1], vi, 122p. 110x165x10mm. The half title page features the legs of the giant, with horses, and their riders streaming out between them. The illustration is signed: “JM” as a monogram [possibly James Mahoney]. It is also signed: “MW Sc” [i.e. possibly John MacWhirter]. Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the front endpaper recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down.

Binding: Dark green endpapers and pastedowns. Brown bead-grain cloth. Both covers are blocked identically, in blind on the lower and in gold on the upper cover. Two fillets are blocked in blind on the borders of both covers , the outer thick, the inner thin. The words: “/ Gulliver’s/ Travels/” are blocked on the centre of the lower cover in blind and on the centre of the upper in gold. The spine has two gold fillets blocked across it a the head and at the tail. Near the head, the words: /” Gulliver’s/ Travels/” are blocked in gold, with a small five leaf motif blocked in gold beneath it.

 

BM P&D 1996, 1104.43. Ruskin, John. The King of the Golden River; or, the Black Brothers: A Legend of Stiria. Illustrated by Richard Doyle. Sixth edition. London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 65, Cornhill, 1867. London: Smith, Elder & Co., Little Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey, E.C. vi, 64p. 2 plates. 140x182x10mm. In the list of Illustrations on page vi, the engravers are: C. Thurston Thompson [i.e. Charles Thurston Thompson]; G. Dalziel [i.e. George Dalziel]; E. Dalziel [i.e. Edward Dalziel]; H. Orrin Smith [i.e. Harvey Edward Orrinsmith]; Isabel Thompson; C. S. Cheltnam [i.e. probably Charles Cheltnam].  Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the verso of page ii.  Inscribed on the upper endpaper recto: “/ Jessie Denton Hirst/ Jany 25th 1871-/”  Stamped on the upper endpaper recto: “/ Cinder/ St. George’s Hall/ Canterbury./” The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down.

Binding: The text is sewn on two cords. Red speckled edges. Yellow endpapers and pastedowns. Orange wave diagonal-grain cloth. On both covers, two fillets are blocked in blind on the borders, the outer thick, the inner thin. On the centre of the upper cover, the figure of the King is blocked in gold above the title: “/The King/ of the/ Golden River/ or the/ Black Brothers/”, which is blocked in gold, in ‘branch like’ letters. On the spine, the title: “The King of the Golden River/” is blocked along its length.

BM P&D 1992, 0406.372; BL: 1867: 11648.g.16. This copy has original covers. Tennyson, Alfred. Enoch Arden, poema Tennysonianum Latine redditum [by William Selwyn]. Londini: Edv. Moxon ed Soc: A.D.1867. Canatabrigiae: typis academicis C. J. Clay, A. M. [8], 50p. 1 plate. The plate is bound in opposite page 1. It is not captioned. It shows the fishing village, within cliffs, the scene echoing the opening lines of the poem:

‘Long lines of cliff breaking have left a chasm;

And in the chasm are foam and yellow sands;

Beyond, red roofs about a narrow wharf

In cluster; then a moulder'd church; and higher

A long street climbs to one tall-tower'd mill;

And high in heaven behind it a gray down

With Danish barrows; and a hazelwood,

By autumn nutters haunted, flourishes

Green in a cuplike hollow of the down.’

Robin de Beaumont’s notes regarding the price of this copy are on the front endpaper verso. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down.

170x220x10mm.

ODNB: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25069?docPos=2

Wiki: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Selwyn,_William_(1806-1875)_(DNB00)

Inscribed on the half title page recto: ‘/ C J Stewart/ from W. Selwyn [i.e. William Selwyn, the translator of the text]/ 1867/ ‘

Binding: Gilt edges. Bevelled boards. Brown endpapers and pastedowns. Green pebble-grain cloth. The borders of both covers are blocked identically, in blind on the lower cover, and in gold on the upper cover. On the upper cover, multiple fillets form squares on each corner, and rectangles on the sides, the head and the tail. Fleur-de-lis and gold dots are blocked within each rectangle. Within each corner square, stylised flower heads are blocked in gold. On the centre, the title words: “/ Enochus  Arden/” are blocked in gold, ‘rope-like’ letters, on each side of an anchor, also blocked in gold. The spine is not blocked.

 

BM P&D 1992,0406.359; BL: 1870: 12807.ff.17. The silver bells. An Allegory. Illustrated by Arthur Hopkins. Oxford and London: James Parker and Company, 1870. [London:] Dalziel Brothers, engravers and printers, Camden Press. 50p. 157x208x10mm. With one page of publisher’s titles bound at the end. The frontispiece is after Hopkins, and is captioned: ‘/ “ever and anon he could hear, above the noise of the waterflood,/ the silvery tones of Alice’s little bell.”/’ Robin de Beaumont’s notes regarding the price of this copy are on the frontispiece recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down.

Inscribed on the frontispiece recto: “/ C. M. Limrich/ January 31st. 1889/”

For descriptive details of the binder’s ticket, see: Ball, Douglas. Victorian publishers’ bindings. London, Library Association, 1985, Appendix E, Nineteenth Century Edition Binders’ Signatures.

Binding: Bevelled boards. Brown endpapers and pastedowns (upper endpaper is missing). Binder’s ticket on lower pastedown: “/ Bound by/ Burn/ & Co./” [Ball no. 20D.] Blue ungrained cloth.  Two fillets are blocked in blind on the borders of both covers. On the upper cover, the central rectangle is formed by groups of three gold fillets, which end in ‘three leaves’ motifs. Within the rectangle, the title words: “/ The/ silver/ bells/” are blocked in gold. Suspended above the word ‘silver’ by two ropes, two bells, blocked in ‘silver’, ring out. The spine is not blocked.

BM 1992,0406.43; BL: 1864: General Reference Collection D-1754.b.7. BL does not appear to have the second edition of 1875. Bunyan, John. Illustrations to Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress by Fredk Shields. Second Edition. London: Simpkin Marshall & Co.; Manchester: A. Ireland & Co., 1875. Unpaginated [20 pages of letterpress, printed on recto only; 19 plates.] 251x318x10mm  The frontispiece portrait of John Bunyan is after Frederick Shields, and also signed: “Orrinsmith” [i.e. Harvey Edward Orrin Smith]. Plate seven is of the Apollyon and Christian. Robin de Beaumont’s notes regarding the price of this copy are on the front endpaper recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down. The title page is inscribed: “/ To Mrs Charles Kingsley/ in grateful memorial/ Fredk. J. Shields/”

Binding: Yellow endpapers and pastedowns. Brown sand-grain cloth. On the boders of both covers two fillets blocked in blind make the border frame. On the upper cover, within a rectangle formed by a single gold fillet, the words: “/ Illustrations/ of/ Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress/ by Fred. J. Shields./2 are blocked in gold. The spine is not blocked.

 

 

BM P&D 1996,1104.28. BL:1881. 7854.bbb.21. [1882] 7868.aa.6. Marx, George Walter. The Art of Drawing and Engraving on Wood. Illustrated. [London:] Published by Houlston & Sons, Paternoster Square, E. C. and Marz & Co., 211, Strand, W. C. [1880]. 52p. 122x183x10mm. The frontispiece is signed and captioned: “Sunset./ (Drawn by Birket Foster.)/ [i.e. Myles Birket Foster]” A  colour print is pasted onto the upper pastedown, with the handwritten caption: “/ Baxter print/ by his successor:/ Le Blond & Co./ (Licencees)/” [i.e. Abraham Le Blond]. Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the frontispiece recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down. Inscribed on the title page recto: “/ M. A. Brocklehurst/ Stockport ‘81/”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Baxter_(printer)

Binding: White pastedowns. Green pebble-grain cloth. There is no blocking on covers or spine. The spine has a label pasted onto its upper half, with the words: “Wood engraving written on the label along its length.

 

 

C.109.ff.21. Artist Name: Laurence Housman. Robinson, Charles Newton. The Viol of Love. Poems.London: John Lane, Bodley Head; Boston: Lamson Wollfe and Co.1895.  [Edinburgh:] Printed by T. and A. Constable at the Edinburgh University Press. viii, 56p.130x197x10mm.              

References: Haslam, Malcolm. Arts and Crafts Book Covers. Shepton Beauchamp, Richard Dennis, 2012, no. 23.

Notes: Page 2 states: “ Of this edition only 350 copies have been printed”. The colophon states: “ The cover, Title-page, and other ornamental designs are by Laurence Housman.” Cream endpapers and pastedowns. Green ungrained cloth. The lower cover is not blocked. The upper cove is blocked in gold. It has an all over design of interlinked curling stems and ‘bunches of flowers’ which appear to be hanging upright. The stems are hooked onto the border ‘branches’, which are formed by two gold fillets blocked on the borders. In the right hand upper corner of the cover, the words: “/ The Viol/ of Love/ and other poems/ by Charles/ Robinson/” are blocked in gold. The spine is blocked in gold. At the head and at the tail, the words: “/ The/ Viol/ of/ Love/ The/ Bodley/ Head/ &/ Boston/” are blocked in gold. Four ‘water drop’ shapes are blocked in gold down the spine.

 

W7/1241. Artist Name: Laurence Housman. Rossetti, Christina. Goblin Market. Illustrated by Laurence Housman. London: Macmillan & Co.1893. [Edinburgh: R & R Clark.]  [3], 63p. 106x186x10mm.   

References: Haslam, Malcolm. Arts and Crafts Book Covers. Shepton Beauchamp, Richard Dennis, 2012, no. 20.

Notes: The design is by Laurence Housman. The device of R & R Clark, printers, is on the verso of page 63. Gilt edges. White/ cream endpapers and pastedowns. Green ungrained cloth. Both covers are blocked with an identical design. A single  gold fillet is blocked on the borders. The design blocked in gold on the covers is of interlocking curling stems, and of flower buds. On the top left of the upper cover/ the title words: “/ Gob-/lin/ Mar/ ket/” are blocked in gold, within a rectangle formed by a single gold fillet. This is repeated on the lower cover, top right. Six ‘clasps’ are blocked ion the spine side of each cover, with gold ‘bands’ blocked across the spine to join them – an imitation of open spine stitching of earlier times. The lower cover is signed  in the right hand corner: “LH” [i.e. Laurence Housman] as a monogram. Another copy of this work is at BL shelf mark 11647.f.33. It is a large paper edition of the work, printed in one hundred and sixty copies in December 1893. This copy has a plain green ungrained cloth binding, with no blocking.

 

 

 

 

2346.a.3. Artist Name: William Snelling Hadaway. Guingamor Lanval Tyolet Le Bisclaveret [The Werewolf]. Four lais rendered into English prose from the French of Marie De France and others by Jessie L. [i.e. Laidlay] Weston. With designs by Caroline Watts. London: Published by David Nutt at the sign of the Phoenix, Long Acre.1900. London & Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. xv, 101p. 112x145x10mm.                  

References: Haslam, Malcolm. Arts and Crafts Book Covers. Shepton Beauchamp, Richard Dennis, 2012, no. 17.

Notes: The design is by William Snelling Hadaway. Arthurian Romances no. III. White endpapers and pastedowns. Originally orange (?) ungrained cloth. The lower cover is not blocked. The upper half of the upper cover is blocked in gold and in green, with a black fillet on its borders. It shows a scene of a knight, mounted on a horse, with a hunting dog running in front of him, and with a fruit tree, a sloping hill and a church and its tower blocked in the background. The dress of the knight is blocked in gold with its decoration picked out in relief. Signed “H” [i.e. William Snelling Hadaway] in the bottom right hand corner of the cover. The spine is blocked in black with the title words: “/ Four/ Lais/ of/ Mar-/ ie/ de/ Fra/ nce/”. There are identical designs, apart from the titles, on Arthurian Romances, no. I – Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; no. II – Tristan and Iseult (2 vols.). Formerly shelved to be available to readers in the Round reading room of the British Museum.

7030.de.13. Artist Name: Edmund Hort New. Bacon, Francis. Of Gardens. An Essay. With an Introduction by Helen Milman and Frontispiece and Cover Design by Edmund H. [i.e. Horton] New. London & New York: John Lane.1902. Boston (Mass.): D. B. Updike, the Merrymount Press. 29p. With eight pages of publisher’s titles bound at the end. 106x152x10mm.

References: Haslam, Malcolm. Arts and Crafts Book Covers. Shepton Beauchamp, Richard Dennis, 2012, no. 47.

Notes: The design is by Edmund Horton New. On page two of the publisher’s titles at the end, this work is advertised as: “Demy 16mo. 2s. 6d. net.” Cream endpapers and pastedowns. Green rib vertical-grain cloth. The lower cover is not blocked. The upper cover is blocked in gold. Two gold fillets are blocked on the borders. The upper third of the cover has the title words: “/ Of/ Gardens/ An Essay by/ Francis Bacon/” blocked in gold. The rest of the cover is occupied by a repeating pattern of ‘rose’ stems, leaves and flowers. Signed: “EHN” [i.e. Edmund Horton New] in gold on the right hand corner. The spine is blocked in gold. The words: “ Of Gardens –Bacon” are blocked along the spine. At the tail, the imprint: “/ John/ Lane/ is blocked in gold. Another copy of this work as at BL Shelf mark 823.3 *896*.

 

BM P&D 1992, 0406.347; BL 11603.aaa.18. Rowley, Charles. A treasury for the young of all ages. Selected by Charles Rowley. Manchester: Sherratt & Hughes,1903. Manchester: Printed by S. Clarke, 58 Sackville Street. 80p. 8 plates. 118x161x10mm. Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the front cover verso. Printed in the Acknowledgement on page 3: “The living artists to be thanked for pictures are Miss Emily Thomson and Mr. Frederick Shields.” The illustration on the verso of the plate between pages 28 and 29 is entitled: “/ What o’clock is it?/ From a drawing by F. Shields/”. It shows two girls and a boy seated in a field, with the boy blowing the seeds from a dandelion head.

Binding: Beige paper covers. The upper has the title printed at the head. On the centre is a vignette, showing five young adults dancing, with hands joined. The motto: Peace on earth/ Goodwill to all men/” is printed on the perimeter. The lower cover has verses by P. B. Shelley. Between the verses, there is an illustration of two nymphs seated in a “shell-like” boat. The spine is plain, without printing.

BM P & D 1992,0406.247; BL: 1904: 11656.c.10. Parnell, Thomas. The Hermit, a Poem. With Thirty Pictures designed and drawn in Pen and Ink by Edward Dalziel. London: Camden Press, N. W., 1904. Printed and Published by Dalziel and Co., Ltd., Camden Press, N. W.  46p. 265x200x10mm. The Illustration on page eleven is captioned: “The Hermit”.  Robin de Beaumont's notes regarding price and dating of this copy are written on the front endpaper recto. The bookplate of Robin de Beaumont is on the front paste down.

Binding: Thick card/ paper originally cream in colour. The lower cover and the spine have no printing. The upper cover has a rectangular panel and a roundel inside which is depicted the figure of Christ. The title words: “/ The Hermit/ A Poem/ by/ Thomas Parnell/ [inverted triangular decorated device[/ With 30 Illustrations by Edward Dalziel/” are printed on the lower half of the cover. Inscribed at the head of the upper cover: “/ To Herbert Dalziel/ With much affection from his Uncle Edward/ Dalziel/”.

 

W11/4286. Aucassin & Nicolette. Translated from the Old French by Eugene Mason. With coloured illustrations by Maxwell Armfield. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd.; New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. 1910. London and Bungay: Richard Clay & Sons, Limited. 72p. 6 plates. 132x183x10mm.   

References: Haslam, Malcolm. Arts and Crafts Book Covers. Shepton Beauchamp, Richard Dennis, 2012, no. 15.

Notes: The design is by Robert Percy Gossop. White endpapers and pastedowns. White ungrained cloth. The lower cover is not blocked. The upper cover is blocked in gold, in grey and in green. On the borders, a repeating pattern of stems and leaves, blocked in green, is interspersed with small flower heads, blocked in gold. This pattern is blocked between two gold fillets. The intern rectangle is formed by repeating dots and a single gold fillet. In the upper half of the rectangle, the title words: “/ Aucassin/ and/ Nicolette/” are blocked in gold in gothic lettering within rectangles formed by a single gold fillet. The lower half of the rectangle has alternating squares of flower heads and leaves, blocked in grey and in green and gold – and a knot motif, blocked on gold with a green diamond at its centre. are blocked in gold within rectangles formed by a single gold fillet. The lower half of the rectangle has alternating squares of flower heads and leaves, blocked in grey and in green and gold – and a knot motif, blocked on gold with a green diamond at its centre. The spine is blocked in gold and in green. Two fillets are blocked in gold down each side of the spine. At the head and at the tail, a small flower head and four small leaves are blocked in gold and in green, each within a square formed by a single gold fillet. Down the length of the spine, the title words: “/ Aucassin and Nicolette/” are blocked in gold in gothic lettering. Another copy of this work is at BL shelf mark X4/7785. It has its original covers.

BM P & D 1992,0406.351; BL: 1915: 7859.d.16.Sandys, Frederick. Reproductions of woodcuts by F. Sandys. London: Published for Mrs. Sandys, 5, Hogarth Road, Kensington by Carl Hentschel, Ltd., 182, 183, 184, Fleet Street, E. C. [1915]. [7p], 25 Plates; fifteen sheets, folded into a single quire, with the plates being printed on the recto of each half sheet. 200x260x10mm. [With a preface by Borough Johnson.] The Illustration on page eleven is captioned: ‘The death of King Warwulf’. Robin de Beaumont’s notes regarding price and dating of this copy are on a separate slip of paper. Signed on the title page: ‘Forrest Reid’ and ‘J. N. Hart’. Inserted loose as the front, is an article by Gleeson White: ‘A great English illustrator. (Frederick Sandys.)’  from the Pall Mall Magazine, together with  two more inserts.

Binding: Beige printed card, made to resemble ungrained linen. The text block is stab stitched in three places above the middle, with cords being tied on the spine. The single piece of card folds over the text block at spine and at fore edge, with the words: “/ Reproductions of/ Woodcuts by/ F. Sandys – 1860-1866./ Edited by Mary Sandys/” being printed on the cover.

Edmund M B King

St Albans

January 2024