This is the original first edition, not a modern reprint.

Binding:  Publisher's light blue straight-grained cloth, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped title, front cover with desert vignette stamped in black and green.

•  Binding as above, minimal wear to extremities, spine with small area of light discoloration. Light pencilled underlining and marks of emphasis, including a star and a wing (all removable). A nice copy of an interesting volume.  (28604)

Signed binding: Publisher's mushroom-colored cloth, front cover with jungle vignette stamped in blue and title in green, spine with green-stamped title. Binding signed with “H”: Frank Hazenplug (1874–1931).

•  Binding as above, minor wear to edges and extremities. Front pastedown with inked gift inscription dated 1927. Pages age-toned with occasional smudges, endpapers spotted.  (28932)

•  Tan cloth over boards, red and black stamped, with vignettes of a biplane, a roadster, a motorbike, and a speedboat in the corners and the author/title in a large oval center medallion. A little rubbed, a little “used,” one page dog-eared; gift inscription dated 1931 on front free endpaper.  (32710)

Binding:  Publisher's textured cream paper–covered boards in very good imitation of morocco, front cover framed in green-stamped fillet, gilt-stamped title surrounded by gilt- and green-stamped floral sprays.

•  Binding as above, paper chipping at corners and spine, spots of light discoloration around edges. Front free endpaper with nicely inked Christmas gift inscription dated 1900. Some pages with mild foxing along inner margins, otherwise clean. A light and sweet production.  (28455)

•  Wright, III, 168.   Publisher's cloth, spine gilt-stamped, front cover stamped in “silver” and gilt; cloth a touch rubbed over corners and spine extremities, otherwise clean and neat. Sewing breaking, not because this is a “bad” copy but because it's the nature of the thing.  (12987)

Binding:  Publisher's boards of papier maché and plaster, formed using a metal mold and colored black, creating a gothic “carved wood binding.” Title blind-embossed on black roan spine. All edges gilt.

McLean states of the English edition of this work that “It was . . . the first of the so-called 'papier maché' bindings, contrived to look like carved ebony.” This first American edition bears the first “papier maché” binding accomplished in the U.S.

•  Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England, 231; McLean, Victorian Book Design (second edition), pp. 99, 210; Maggs Bros., Bookbinding in the British Isles, part 2, 245; Abbey, Life, 222.   Very nicely preserved copy with just a few small cracks in the binding, leaves expertly reattached/recased; spine intact with surface of front cover a little rubbed in one small portion. Unlike the broken, chipped, and damaged copies we have seen, this is a treasurable exemplar. Housed in a quarter red cloth clamshell case with tan cloth sides and black leather gilt spine label.  (30100)

Binding:  Publisher's red cloth, front cover with gilt-framed title and chromolithographic illustration of a fetching young girl in cap and cape.

•  Binding as above, corners rubbed, spine darkened; frontispiece separated. Frontispiece and title-page with light spotting, offsetting to pp. 5 (blank) and 6 from a now-absent laid-in slip, pages otherwise generally clean.  (28434)

Binding: Publisher's red pictorial cloth, front cover and spine stamped in black, brown, and gilt.

•  Good++: Some soiling to binding; light to moderate foxing internally. (8539)

For CHILDREN / EDUCATION,  click here.

•  BAL 2482 (second printing state, with plates included in pagination). Publisher's brown cloth, front cover stamped in gilt and green, spine with gilt-stamped title; front cover lightly scuffed, with corners rubbed. Front fly-leaf with inked gift inscription "to My Daughter," dated 1890; newspaper clipping about Carleton affixed to front fly-leaf, poem affixed to back fly-leaf as described above. Several insurance advertisements, religious leaflets, and other ephemera laid in. (14367)

•  NSTC 2C8057.   Vol. II only (of 3). Binding as above, joints and extremities rubbed, spine dimmed with foot chipped. Added engraved title-page with tear from lower margin extending up along inner edge of image, repaired some time ago. One guard leaf with old repairs. Five plates excised (their guard leaves still present); some plates with spots of foxing, predominantly in margins. Not perfect, and one of its set, but stillan extremely appealing binding housing 32 beautiful plates.  (31113)

This is the genuine first edition, not a modern reprint.

Binding:  Publisher's olive cloth, front cover with Art Nouveau water lily design and gilt-stamped title, spine with gilt-stamped title.

•  Binding as above, minor rubbing at extremities. Front free endpaper with pencilled Christmas gift inscription dated 1902; back free endpaper with rubber-stamped numeral (no other markings). Pages and plates clean. A very nice copy.  (28585)

Binding: Publisher's pale blue-green ribbed cloth richly stamped in gold on covers and spine. All edges gilt.

•  Bound as above, a bit rubbed at head and foot of spine; 1852 gift inscription on front free endpaper. Foxing to frontispiece and endpapers.  (30496)

Binding: Publisher's green cloth, front cover and spine stamped in gilt; cover with handsome vignette of “Holy-Cross Abbey” seen from across the water.

Provenance:  Gift inscription of Christmas, 1892; C.J. O'Callaghan to Thomas F. Donahue. 20th-century bookplates of Francis Massey O'Brien (Portland, Maine), bibliophile and bookseller.

Evidence of readership: O'Brien's extensive notes on the blank endpapers and fly-leaves.

•  Bound as above; spine faded. Interior clean. A good ++ copy.  (30065)

48 plates

•  NSTC 0155519.   Publisher's blue cloth, front cover with pictorial onlay; lower outer front corner bumped, spine sunned with extremities a bit rubbed and corners less so. Last two leaves opened roughly, with chips to outer edges; otherwise, pages age-toned but very clean. A comprehensive and entertaining illustrated guide to seafaring for juveniles.  (30296)

•  Publisher's blue cloth, front cover and spine stamped in black and gilt; cloth a bit rubbed over corners and spine extremities, with spine gilt slightly dimmed, otherwise beautiful. Front pastedown with small bookplate, front free endpaper with contemporary gift inscription. (12985)

Signed Binding: Publisher's teal pebbled cloth, front covers with striking chariot and armorial scene in light blue, tan, and gilt. The “Cibeles” statue found in Madrid's Cibeles Plaza and the coat of arms (and gilt monogram) of the city of Madrid appear with de la Cruz's name stamped in gilt below; spines offer gilt-stamped title and black-stamped griffin decoration. Cover of vol. II is signed “J. Orba.” All page edges are stamped in a Greek key pattern in blue and gilt.

Provenance:  Half-titles each with old-fashioned rubber-stamp of José Carmona y Ramos.

•  Palau 65340.   Bindings as above, edges and extremities showing minor shelfwear, back cover of vol. I with small spots of faint discoloration, front joint of vol. II rubbed. Collector's stamp as above, each front pastedown with small paper label bearing hand-inked numeral. Pages age-toned; edges slightly embrittled, occasionally with small chips or short tears. Scattered light smudges in vol. I; vol. II with mild to moderate foxing. A peacocky set demonstrating the INTERNATIONALITY of the “publisher's cloth” phenomenon.  (29262)

Binding:  Publisher's green cloth, front cover pictorially stamped in white, red, and gilt; spine with gilt-stamped title.

•  Binding as above; dust jacket lacking, minor rubbing to extremities, back cover with crease in cloth (not board). Front pastedown with private collector's bookplate dated [19]15. A nice copy!  (28612)

Binding:  Percaline mosaïquée binding of publisher's violet cloth, covers framed in blind, front cover with gilt-stamped Last Supper vignette surrounded by smaller vignettes and decorations stamped in gilt, white, green, red, and pink; back cover with elaborate IHS display stamped in gilt, green, blue, red, and white; spine gilt extra and stamped in red and green. All edges gilt.

•  Binding as above, spine and edges of front cover somewhat sunned, front cover with a few small spots of discoloration, extremities rubbed, “presence” very nice. Hinges (inside) tender, requiring some caution (not unexpected in a volume of this size).; one plate separated, one starting to separate. Intermittent faint foxing only; in fact a sumptuous and pleasing presentation, with an intriguing inscription, in a copy that can be called not only “clean” but “bright.”  (30993)

Binding:  Dark green publisher's cloth, cover edges bevelled and title gilt-stamped in a cartouche on front one, this within a blind-stamped vaguely “gothic” frame. Glossy brown endpapers and all edges red.

•  Bound as above, somewhat scuffed and with loss of cloth at head and foot of spine; hinges (inside) open. Ticket of a music publishing concern and “musical merchandise” establishment in Worcester, MA, inside front cover; endpapers chipped. Text age-toned, generally clean; a few pencillings.  (3192)

Click the interior image for an enlargement.

•  Publisher's cloth, front cover and spine decoratively gilt-stamped; spine, lower edges, and corners a touch rubbed. Top edge gilt. A few leaves and plates with waterstaining to lower outer corners, scattered spots of light foxing. (18409)

Binding:  Publisher's sage-green cloth, front cover stamped in black, terra-cotta, and gilt with swirl design surrounding chrysanthemums and a pegasus medallion; spine similarly stamped, with double flute player vignette. All edges gilt. Not a signed binding, but, as noted on verso of title-page, a production of “Trow's Printing and Bookbinding Company, New York.”

•  Binding as above, corners and spine extremities a bit rubbed, spine gilt a bit dimmed. Front fly-leaf with inked ownership inscription dated 1884. Pages and plates clean. Overall a very attractive copy.  (26902)

Binding:  Publisher's sage green paper–covered sides with dark green cloth shelfback, front cover with decorative title and train vignette both stamped in gilt and dark green, spine with gilt-stamped title. Top edge gilt, outer edge deckle.

•  Binding as above; edges, joints, and extremities rubbed, front cover mottled. Front pastedown with inked ownership inscription. Pages and plates clean.  (29126)

•  Publisher's embossed cloth, spine with gilt-stamped title; corners and spine extremities showing minor wear, with gilt oxidized. Front free endpaper with pencilled inscription; some page edges with small blotches. Binding very handsome in its subtle way. Impossible! to get a good image of! (12986)

For a bit more AGRICULTURE,  click here.

Signed binding: Publisher's dark blue cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped stylized double fish design, signed with the double D monogram of Decorative Designers; spine with gilt-stamped title and scallop shell. Top edge gilt.

•  Binding as above, corners and spine a bit rubbed. Front pastedown with private owner's bookplate. A clean, attractive copy.  (28862)

•  Publisher's cloth, front cover and spine stamped in white, black, orange, and gilt; lacking the dust jacket, with binding slightly cocked, spine stamping a bit dimmed. Front free endpaper with inked ownership inscription.  (13027)

Binding:  In the style of a percaline mosaïquée, but the gilt and mosaic are applied to a textured pebbled cloth. Spine gilt extra with added “mosaic” of green, white, red and blue. Front cover with a blind-stamped border incorporating elegant corner-pieces; within this, “Souvenir de Versailles” gilt-stamped in an arc above a large on-laid crowned coat of arms flanked by banners and flags, this embellished in gilt with rich use of blue, white, red, blue, and green. Rear cover with similar blind-stamped border and a different large gilt-stamped center device strikingly incorporating an on-lay of blue stamped in gilt with a military medal. All edges gilt.

•  On this type of binding, see: Morris & Levin, The Art of Publishers' Bookbindings, pp. 94–97.   Binding as above, rubbed to the underlying boards at the corners of the boards and top of spine slightly pulled with one bit of rubbing. Scattered pale brown stains mostly on interleaves and sometimes visible on versos of plates; some discoloration in some margins of plates and occasionally into one; overwhelmingly a clean copy, remarkably bright and unfoxed. A strong and nice example of this category of “souvenir” and of a gilt mosaic binding.  (30464)

This volume is illustrated with10 steel-engraved plates and one hand-colored map.

•  Publisher's green cloth binding, front cover stamped in black and gilt; bright and clean, with cloth showing only very minor wear to corners and extremities. All edges gilt. (14437)

Click the interior image for an enlargement.

•  Publisher's teal cloth, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped title and decorative floral motifs; back cover and corners showing very slight scuffing. Back hinge cracked and front hinge starting; front free endpaper excised. Still, an attractive copy. (18393)

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)

For more AMERICAN GIFT BOOKS, 
click here.

Evidence of use/readership: Some hymns marked for use, a handwritten index inside front cover, and many added hymns tipped in from a different hymnal.

•  Bound as above, hinges cracked, front free endpaper missing. With some small staining and a limited section of pages tattered along bottom edge; “personalizations” as above.  (2392)

The volume isillustrated with 24 portraits by George Gardner Rockwood, famed for his cartes de visite and here described as “the celebrated photographer.”

Binding:  Publisher's cadet-blue cloth, front cover and spine pictorially stamped in gilt, “silver” (aluminum), and black, the front cover featuring three vignettes (“The strength of a nation is in its homes,” “Rum power,” and “United we stand”). In the domestic scene pictured, the family's unobserved smallest child is attempting to pull himself up “all by himself” by clinging to the parlor table's floor-length cloth; one trusts that someone will intervene before he overturns the lamp!

•  Binding as above; slightly shaken with hinges (inside) tender, spine gilt a bit dimmed, extremities showing very minor rubbing. Pages age-toned. A striking combination of the era's aesthetics and its cultural preoccupations.  (31392)

•  Scott, A Bibliography of the Works of Sir Henry Haggard 1856–1925, 10. Publisher's red pictorial cloth, issued without frontispiece. Spine a bit darkened, a few leaves with faint spots of foxing, endpapers lightly discolored. Spine slightly cocked. (8614)

•  BAL 7841.   Publisher's tan cloth, front cover with affixed color-printed paper illustration; binding somewhat darkened (especially spine), corners and spine extremities rubbed, a few small spots of discoloration to front and back covers. Front pastedown with pencilled gift inscription, front free endpaper with bookseller's small ticket. Pages clean. A very nice book. (20839)

For DICTIONARIES/GRAMMARS,
LANGUAGE ETC.,  click here.

•  Binding as above, neatly rebacked with similarly colored cloth; ties lacking, covers showing water-spotting (less noticeable on front cover). Instruction booklet and slipcase lacking; board age-toned, three corners each with a spot of mild staining, some corners and folds split and unobtrusively reinforced. An object sound, charming, and, yes, STILL educational!  (32343)

Provenance: With a tipped-in, printed slip reading “With the kind regards of The Author.”

•  Publisher's purple cloth, front cover and spine gilt-stamped; spine and edges sunned, back cover with its double layer of cloth partially torn through the top layer (interesting, as to binding structure). Front pastedown with institutional bookplate, preliminary leaf with early inked ownership inscription and pressure-stamp of a religious institution, title-page with small rubber-stamp. Pages clean. (20829)

Despite Hope's having been English and even knighted, this work was apparently never printed in England.

Binding:  Publisher's red cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped title and blind-stamped garden design, spine with gilt-stamped title. Signed binding: Front cover with monogram of a J crowned with E (unidentified designer).

•  Binding as above, cocked, with minimal rubbing to extremities. Front free endpaper with inked gift inscription dated Christmas 1904. A few corners bumped, one torn away. Pages very clean. A bright, pretty copy.  (29132)

•  BAL 9401. Green publisher's cloth, front cover stamped in white and gilt, spine with gilt-stamped title; clean and solid, with only very slight traces of wear to extremities. Front free endpaper with inked owner's name. (16665)

Binding:  Publisher's green cloth elaborately stamped in gilt on front cover with an overall pattern of torches with bows, surrounding a central cartouche with the title and author in gilt.

Click the images for enlargements.

•  BAL 9577 (for first edition).   Binding as above, lightly rubbed at base of spine, small area of minor discoloration on spine. Ex–social club library: call number on endpaper, rubber-stamp on title-page, no other markings.  (26805)