Morocco Bindings

London: Sharpe and Son et al., 1819. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. A beautiful Regency full red morocco by the great firm of White of Pall Mall with gilt raised bands, gilt pallets and simple centre tools. Double gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelled and all edges. Portraits in volume I and an engraved frontispiece in volume II, as called for. Very slight fading to the spines of volumes III & IV, but overall an exceptionally fine set.

London and Paris: Boussod, Valadon & Co. (GOUPIL), 1897. Full morocco, 13 inches tall. A luxurious full crushed morocco by Ramage with gilt raised bands and elegant gilt tooling to the panels and boards. Delightful gilt dentelles and top edge. Occasion very light foxing. With a colour frontispiece and monochrome plates and vignettes throughout. A lavish work on the Life of Queen Victoria at the height of her reign.

London: William Sams, 1822. Full morocco, 14 1/2 inches tall. In a later full crushed morocco by Zaehnsdorf with gilt raised bands and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A panel with elaborate gilt corner tooling and a wide and elegant roll frames the boards. Wide gilt dentelles and all edges. The folio has been preserved in a sturdy buckram case, ensuring the pristine condition of the volume. Tissues guard the plates, which show scenes of many vibrantly hand-coloured characters rather than emphasising the great buildings of the city which tend to be in the background. We see a lively portrayal of beautifully costumed Parisians in diverse walks of life. A splendid copy of one of the finest books of the period on Paris.

London: Virtue & Co., 1875. 2 volume set, 15 inches tall. A tall and magnificent full morocco by Flude, Birch & Skelt, and with their ticket, with twin gilt raised bands and splendid gilt and blind tooling to the panels and boards. With fine gilt dentelles and all edges. Bookplate. Complete with all 39 full page engravings and 2 engraved vignettes on the title pages. Some light foxing and offsetting from a few plates, overall an usually clean and neat set of this monumental edition.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1899. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. A beautiful little binding by Ramage with gilt raised bands, dense gilt tooling of many stars and dots around heart centre tools to the panels. On the boards onlays of calf create rosebuds with a wide border of stars and hearts. Delicately gilt tooled dentelles and watered silk doublures and all edges gilt. The rather extraordinary bookplate of Sibell Cromartie (Countess Cromartie of Castle Leod) is found on the pastedown 'endpaper'. A delightful volume of the poetical works of John Keats.

London: Strahan & Co., 1872. Full morocco, 6 1/2 inches tall. A splendid full morocco binding with gilt raised bands and extra gilt panels. A single gilt fillet and extravagant corner tooling frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the armorial bookplate of Viscount Boyne of Burwarton House. A most attractive copy of the first edition.

London: John W. Parker, 1855: 1855. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A spectacular mid-Victorian full hard grain pink morocco by Grieve of Edinburgh, with gilt raised bands, green labels and a blind Aldus leaf centre tool. Wide gilt rolls and blind fillets frame the boards. With the armorial bookplate of Peter Carmichael. Maps, including 2 double page. A superb set of this great history devoted to the relationship between the conquering Spanish forces and the native American Indians.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1892. Full morocco, 6 1/4 inches tall. A very pretty binding by Bumpus with gilt raised bands and charming gilt tooling with hearts and leaves in the panels. Twin gilt fillets and the same tooling in the corners frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. There is a large bookplate on the free end paper and foxing on the half title, otherwise clean. A delightful copy of the selected verse of this great 17th century English lyric poet.

London: C. Baldwyn, 1823. 2 volumes bound in 1, 9 1/4 inches tall. A wonderful full morocco binding by the great firm of Bedford from the library of a Scottish Gentleman. Gilt raised bands, exceptionally fine gilt tooling to the panels and triple gilt fillets framing the boards. Gilt dentelles and top edge. A curious comic work in which Cruikshank " selects or invents those incidents which might be interesting or amusing in themselves, while they afford scope for the peculiar talents of the artist who adorns them with his designs". Both volumes contains 10 themes, each illustrated with a full page wood engraving. There are further engraved vignettes on India paper throughout. With 6 leaves of advertisements bound in. An absolutely pristine copy of the first edition.

London & Boston: The Medici Society, n.d. c.1920. Full morocco, 5 1/2 inches tall. A scarce little edition in a full crushed morocco binding by Hatchards. A delightful volume containing several obscure as well as more familiar Christmas Carols.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1910. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. An exquisite binding by Ramage with gilt raised bands, dense gilt tooling with tiny blue band onlays and exceptionally fine gilt tooling with extensive blue onlays to the boards. With elaborate gilt tooled dentelles on watered silk doublures and free 'end papers'. Ink inscriptions on first blank. One of the best titles in Ramage's repertoire of little luxury binding in pristine condition.

London: Hector M'Lean, 1823. 5 volume set, 5 1/2 inches tall. A delightful full Regency straight grain morocco with wide gilt raised bands and exuberant floral gilt tooling to the panels. A blind and gilt tooled lozenge is framed within a wide blind roll and twin gilt fillets. All edges gilt. There is a neat ink former owner's name, 'Sarah Darell Vawdrey' on the first blanks. Embellished with a portrait and engraved full page illustrations throughout. A charming selection of the works of this great Anglo-Irish writer in a fine binding.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907. Full morocco, 6 3/4 inches tall. A splendid little luxurious binding by Ramage with gilt raised bands and delicate gilt tooling to the panels and boards.Gilt dentelles and watered silk doublures. With an armorial bookplate. All edges gilt. A little bit grubby and with rubbing to the shoulders, but still a delightful little copy of this fine anthology.

London: R. Ackermann, 1815: 1815. Full morocco, 10 inches tall. A tall and sumptuous later full crushed morocco binding by the great firm of Bedford. With gilt raised bands and exceptional gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt dentelles and top edge. Very slight fading to the spine but still a wonderful copy from the library of a Scottish Gentleman. Hand-colored aquatint frontispiece, engraved title page and a further 16 hand-colored aquatint plates, as listed. First edition in book form. As good a copy of this highly entertaining work as one could hope to find.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1898. Full morocco, 6 1/4 inches tall. A luxurious little binding by Ramage with gilt raised bands and beautiful gilt tooling to the panels and boards around orange rose inlays and leaves. Wide gilt dentelles with the same inlayed rose tooling and watered silk doublures and free 'end papers'. All edges gilt. There is considerable rubbing and the upper board is duller than the lower but still a firm and solid example of Ramage's splendid Edwardian bindings.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1904. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. A beautiful example of one of Ramage's luxury bindings, so popular in the Edwardian period. Full crushed morocco gilt raised bands and sumptuous gilt tooling to the panels and boards. With wide and elaborate gilt dentelles and watered silk doublures and free 'endpapers'. Light foxing to the preliminaries and slight rubbing but still a remarkable and impressive binding on this charming anthology 'selected from the best songs and lyrical poems in the English language'.

London: Meiklejohn and Son, 1911. Full morocco, 6 3/4 inches tall. A splendid binding by Zaehnsdorf with gilt raised bands and neat framed panels to the spine and elaborate gilt tooling with pink petal onlays to the upper boards, framing the title. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Printed on India paper. A fine copy of this anthology of Scottish poetry.

London: John Lane at the Bodley Head, 1899. Full morocco, 6 1/2 inches tall. A beautiful crushed morocco binding by Riviere with two gilt raised bands and fine floral gilt tooling in the Art Nouveau manner. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Very slight rubbing. Illustrated by Henry Ospovat, who was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and encouraged by Watts and Ricketts (B.M.) Bookplate. A delightful copy of these greatest of all sonnets.

London, The Punch Office, 1845. Full morocco, 10 inches tall. A pristine example of this classic comic work bound in sumptuous full morocco by the great firm of Bedford, from the library of a Scottish Gentleman. An exceptionally tall copy with gilt raised bands, ornate floral gilt tooling to the panels, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, wide gilt dentelles and top edge gilt. Embellished with 12 full page steel engravings and 117 superb engraved vignettes. With over 50 leaves of highly entertaining advertisements. As fine a copy as one could hope to find.