Binding:  Blue publisher's cloth, spine stamped in gilt with fancified title and partly arabesque design, covers decoratively framed in blind.

•  Not in Faxon, nor Thompson, American Literary Annuals & Gift Books; for another year, see Tepper, American Gift Books & Literary Annuals. (Second edition), p. 100.   Bound as above, recently well rebacked with original spine laid on and new endpapers, gently rubbed, small sticker on spine. Light age-toning and foxing (especially around the frontispiece as usual), with occasional other spotting or staining (some perhaps in press); a sound copy representingan interesting phenomenon in marketing.  (37262)

Binding:  Publisher's red cloth, covers and spine gilt-stamped with avian and foliate designs; all edges gilt.

•  Faxon 786.   Spine and edges moderately rubbed with front hinge cracked; spots of staining to bottom part of front cover. Front free endpaper with good portion torn away, back free endpaper lacking; waterstaining in varying degrees to lower outer corners after p. 120 and some soiling. One signature extruded and others heading for that; one plate shaved very very close to image at top but image itself not quite touched! Not a fresh copy, still, an interesting one.  (12944)

•  Binding as above, joints and extremities moderately rubbed and spine a bit darkened/dimmed; in contemporary marbled paper–covered slipcase, case rubbed and abraded with joints starting. Original silk bookmark still attached and present; a touch of light foxing, otherwise clean. A handsome and handy reference for an upscale Italian.  (12999)

Binding: Publisher's brown cloth, covers framed in blind, front cover with gilt-stamped urn of flowers, back cover with same design in blind. All edges gilt.

•  Faxon 655.   Bound as above, corners bumped/rubbed and base of rear joint and spine a little rubbed; gilt bright. Endpapers with early pencilled inscriptions, frontispiece with adhesion of a sliver of paper from title-page along inner margin, title-page with brown spot in lower margin offset onto lower edge of frontispiece. Sewing loosening with some early and final leaves starting to separate, title-page all but separated. Pages generally clean, with a few scattered spots; one upper margin with pencilled inscription mostly erased. A read and cherished copy, still sweetly sentimental and interesting to look at.  (30368)

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with pencilled inscription: “A Christmas Present from Maria to Charlie, 1862.”

Binding: Publisher's pebbled rose-color cloth, front cover and spine elegantly gilt-stamped with foliate motifs, back cover blind-stamped. All edges gilt.

•  Faxon 738; Bradbury, Miniature Books, p. 165, no. 12; Welsh, Bibliography of Miniature Books, 6097 (for the other edition).   Binding as above, front cover gilt partially oxidized (not unattractively), spine evenly sunned, minimal rubbing to extremities. Spots of mild to moderate foxing. A treasurable “Gift.” (41619)

Owner's modification: The word “Pax” is neatly printed in black ink on the book's back cover, gently arced above the engraving; and “Roosevelt” has been similarly added to the back of the slipcase, with “Post Lux Tenebras” being artfully placed below the engraving.

•  Faxon 1303.   Binding as above, back inside cover with brown silk pull-tab intact, joints very skillfully refurbished with long fiber and then toned; extremities gently rubbed. Front free endpaper pencilled with old bookseller annotations. Pages and plates generally clean with very occasional light foxing; guard leaves with predictable offsetting. Case somewhat rubbed with extremities chipped at corners but completely sound and with the described embellishments. A lovely little gift book, with the original (and early for its kind) slipcase.  (36042)

Provenance:  From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  NSTC 2T6768.   Binding as above, spine sunned to a rosy tan color, extremities lightly rubbed. Old cataloguing affixed to front free endpaper verso (i.e., to paper, not silk). Small line of staining to upper margins of most leaves, pages and plates otherwise clean save for three instances of offsetting from plates. A pretty little book; a nice thing in 1848 and a nice thing now.  (38635)

Binding:  Contemporary green morocco, covers framed in gilt triple fillets with gilt-tooled corner fleurons surrounding a central foliate medallion, spine gilt extra. Turn-ins with gilt roll. All edges gilt. Signed binding: “Bain, Binder” small stamp in lower margin of verso of front free endpaper.

Provenance:  Prize copy: front fly-leaf with inked inscription reading “Jno. Hy. Lloyd [/] Prize for proficiency in English and British History. July, 1872 [/] A.R. Abbott [/] Grove House”; beneath inscription, affixed paper label inscribed “George B. Lloyd.” Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  McLean, Victorian Book Design, 68 & 146.   Binding as above, showing light wear overall with joints, spine bands, and extremities rubbed, spine slightly darkened. Front fly-leaf with inscription and label as above. Fly-leaves and half-title foxed; a few faint spots of foxing scattered through pages. A distinguished example of this quintessentially Victorian present.  (38060)

Following the poetry section there is a series of advertisements for products such as Pratt's Astral Oil and double-deodorized benzine. This is an interesting, attractive little relic of an era when manufacturers of such humble products sought surprisingly often to associate themselves with Much Higher Things — often going to real trouble and expense to do so!

•  Beige printed wrappers with “1888" written on the front cover in ink and a small pink stain at top edge; light age-toning.  (36736)

We've added a copy to our permanent reference library here at PRB&M: This includes collations and useful commentary.

•  Paperback with full color illustrations. A very good reference work.  (36706)