(British Painting)Biblio.com
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1880311089New York: D. Appleton and Company 1880. With 121 steel-engraved plates. List of engravings and letterpress leaf of descriptive text facing each plate. 2 vols. Folio. Publisher's full morocco elaborately stamped in gilt and blind a.e.g. Corner crease to engraved title vol 1 internally clean. With 121 steel-engraved plates. List of engravings and letterpress leaf of descriptive text facing each plate. 2 vols. Folio. D. Appleton and Company unknown
190022170China: n.p. 1900. Hardcover. Near fine. 8vo. 22 unnumbered pages using verso only. Accordion book bound in Asian style. Wooden boards the upper board carved with the character for Good Luck. Top and bottom edges gilt.<br /> <p><br /> This is followed by 11 sets of two pages the right hand page with the story of a particular lady in Chinese and English and the left hand with a painting on silk illustrating the story and bordered in brocade. The silk paintings are bright and unfaded showing vibrant pigmentation and artistically executed with lovely shading effect Includes the story of Mu Lan basis for the Disney film.<br /> <br /> <p><br /> The typesetting and spelling of the English translation are poorly accomplished the word 'Cbinese' in the title being perhaps the most glaring example. Misspellings misuses of quotation marks and unusual word separations lead us to believe this is the first issue of a title preprinted into the 1930's. <br /> <p><br /> A fine example.<br /> <p><br /> Scarce. n.p. hardcover
1870ST11417Innsbruck ca. 1870. Folder: 240 x 206 mm; 9 1/2 x 8 1/8"; painting: 133 x 102 mm. 5 1/4 x 4". <br/> Matted and housed in a black cloth-backed folder with black paper boards. Front pastedown with a sample of the cobweb material and a large paper label in three languages; lower right corner of mat stamped with the name "F. Unterberger / Innsbruck." Edges and head and tail of spine slightly worn and bumped light foxing to the mat and interior of the folder a hint of toning to the lightly colored sky a tiny hole just grazing the hairline of the subject small closed tear at the bottom of the image but all of these imperfections quite trivial the fragile painting IN ESPECIALLY FINE CONDITION with the colors very bright and an altogether remarkable survival.<br/> <br/> Featuring a comely wistful young peasant woman this highly unusual piece of art redefines our notion of the term "fine" being both skillfully executed and painted on a whisper thin canvas consisting of actual spider webbing. While the earliest such cobweb paintings are purported to have been done by monks and nuns in the 16th century the form later became a kind of peasant art geared toward the tourist trade in the 19th century. It seems to have been a particular specialty in the areas near the Tyrolean Alps where the Agelenidae or "Funnel-Web" spiders produced webs that were gathered then layered wound and stretched producing a fabric that was then strengthened by the brushing on of diluted milk. The result was a very fragile fabric but one sturdy enough to withstand delicate brushstrokes applied by the careful hands of skilled artisans. Our piece almost certainly passed through the hands of one of the most successful purveyors of these paintings Franz Unterberger 1838-1902. Best known as a painter in oils of Italian scenery Unterberger also ran a small workshop located in Innsbruck where he commissioned and sold cobweb paintings done by accomplished locals. Anonymously painted the present piece is characterized by particularly fine brushwork a bright color palette and charming subject matter no doubt chosen to appeal to tourists seeking a cheerful memento of their travels. Due to the obvious fragility of the material involved these kinds of paintings are uncommon on the market and when they do appear are often defective. The present painting is significantly larger than the few other examples we have been able to find. There are two paintings in the McCormick Library at Northwestern each measuring 4 x 3" and larger than recent examples at auction which ranged in size from 3 1/4 x 2 1/4" to 4 1/2 x 3 1/4". According to Lauren Hock's article on the McCormick Library website 22 July 2008 there are fewer than 100 known extant cobweb paintings and most of them reside in private collections. unknown
1810ST17640ccEdinburgh: Printed by J. Ballantyne and Co 1810. Fourth Edition Second Large Paper Impression. 241 x 146 mm. 9 1/2 x 5 3/4". Three volumes. <br/> Pleasing contemporary black straight-grain morocco covers with gilt floral frame enclosing central panel with blind-stamped thistle cornerpieces raised bands spines heavily gilt in compartments with much swirling foliage gilt turn-ins marbled endpapers all edges gilt. Volume I WITH AN ATTRACTIVE FORE-EDGE PAINTING OF THE MERCAT CROSS IN MELROSE ROXBURGHSHIRE. Front pastedown of volumes II and III with engraved bookplate of W. J. Denison see below; volume I with evidence of bookplate removal; copy of an engraving of Boston Church Lancashire laid in at rear of volume II. Todd & Bowden 8Ag. ◆Joints and extremities a bit worn boards with a number of abrasions well masked with dye minor foxing here and there in the text nine gatherings with faint overall browning due to poor quality of paper but still an excellent set the leaves clean the once quite dazzling bindings still sound and very pleasing on the shelf and the fore-edge painting well preserved.<br/> <br/> Apart from the fore-edge painting here this is an important work in the Scott canon offered in pretty contemporary bindings that once belonged to a person of great wealth and influence. Scott collected traditional ballads on his trips to the Borders region and in 1796 began compiling this work in an effort to preserve folklore of his native land that might otherwise be lost. Our fourth edition contains 27 historical ballads 52 romantic ballads and 20 imitations written by Scott and his friends. According to Day "The whole bent of Scott's later imaginative writings both in verse and prose was governed by this ballad spirit. Probably this work was Scott's greatest contribution to poetry." The handsome fore-edge painting depicts in a realistic style the mercat cross marking the central marketplace in Melrose a town in the Scottish Borders near Scott's home at Abbotsford. A 12th century law required that all goods for sale be presented at a town's mercat market cross a tall column usually topped with a small statue. Such is the cross at the center of our painting which is rendered in subdued grays and browns. Two streets lined with thatched houses and shops wend away from the central marketplace and a large gray-green mountain looms in the background. A small Scottish terrier trots across the center of the scene; a couple of merchants chat beside the cross; a woman and small boy head up one of the streets while an old man with a cane walks up the other. It is a tranquil scene but enlivened by the townsfolk and the cheerful little Scottie. It is unusual for only one volume in a set to be so decorated; something must have interrupted the artist before he could complete the commission. Perhaps the print laid in volume II was intended to be an inspiration for its fore-edge decoration. Former owner W. J. Denison 1770-1849 was a banker and politician who was one of the richest men in Britain; he left an estate valued at £2.3 million. A staunch Whig member of parliament for 38 years he was a strong advocate for parliamentary reform and was one of the founders of the Reform Club. He acquired vast estates in Yorkshire and Surrey but declined a peerage when it was offered in 1820. Printed by J. Ballantyne and Co unknown
1814ST12630London: Printed for John Booth 1814. FIRST EDITION. 225 x 133 mm. 8 7/8 x 5 1/4". 1 p.l. lviii 416 pp. <br/> Pleasing contemporary midnight blue straight-grain morocco covers framed by plain gilt rules outlining Greek key and palmette blind rolls raised bands compartments with central gilt fleuron radiating densely blind-tooled foliage gilt-ruled turn-ins all edges gilt; WITH AN EXCELLENT FORE-EDGE PAINTING OF DOVER CASTLE. A PRESENTATION COPY with slightly foxed signed autograph letter bound in opposite title with letter offsets: "The Author / begs Mr. E. S. Stephenson's / acceptance of this Volume / as a token of his / friendship and esteem. / R. S." Front pastedown with unidentified armorial bookplate. Full list of subscribers including addenda. ◆A bit of wear to corners and joints a very small ink stain to edge of preliminary leaves visible at upper left background of fore-edge painting not affecting primary image otherwise a fine copy clean and fresh internally in a lustrous binding.<br/> <br/> This is a decorative binding highlighted by an atmospheric fore-edge scene of Dover Castle painted by a skilled artist. The view depicts a cottage along a country road in the foreground with Dover Castle looming in the background against a hazy sky; a small figure presumably the cottage owner stands right of center. The scene is well designed with the eye moving from the cottage and castle towers at left toward the sea at the far right the foreground landscape's more saturated color anchoring the composition. Of particular note is how this foregound contrasted with the background's washed color creates the illusion of perspective. Despite the light browns and greens at the bottom of the scene the painting is essentially gray and particularly tranquil as a result. The skill of the painter here is seen most notably in his delicate and subtle shading a challenge that defeats even very able practitioners of the fore-edge painting. As always the dating of the painting is difficult but we think that it was done much closer to the time of publication than to the present day. Our author the Rev. Robert Stevens was a celebrated speaker who ultimately rose to become the head of the chapter of canons at Rochester Cathedral. Printed for John Booth unknown
1809257577London: Published For John Reeves Esq 1809. 1 vols. 8vo. Contemporary diced calf cover tooled in gilt with wide outer roll border enclosing blind-tooled border spine in 5 compartments with 4 double raised bands gilt-lettered in 2 gilt ornaments in the rest a.e.g. with DOUBLE FORE-EDGE painting of Durham and Cromer Beach. Re-hinged contents fine. Bookplate of Charles Stirling. 1 vols. 8vo. With a double fore-edge paintings identified by an earlier owner as Durham and Cromer Beach. Griffiths 1809:1 Published For John Reeves Esq unknown
182642725London: Steely 1826. 1 vols. 8vo. Bound in full contemporary maroon cross-grained morocco with double fore-edge entitled "The Village of Catskill Hudson River. 1 vols. 8vo. Steely unknown
189442820877<p>With a charming fore-edge painting of Dove Cottage William Wordsworth's Lake District home. Wordsworth lived there with his sister Dorothy from December 1799 to May 1808. In 1802 the poet married and his wife and her sister joined the Wordsworths at the Cottage. By 1808 the family had outgrown the house and it became the longtime home of their friend Thomas De Quincey.</p><p><em>The Ethics of the Dust</em> presents an imagined conversation with and series of lectures to the young ladies of Winnington Hall the finishing school Ruskin supported. He casts himself as the "Old Lecturer" talking about diamonds antiquities minerals and crystals which serve as jumping-off points for a metaphorical exploration of Ruskin's philosophical social and political ideals.</p><p>Eighth edition. Blind-tooled blue calf all edges gilt. Near fine.</p> George Allen hardcover
1817266902London: F.C. and J. Rivington 1817. no title-page. 8vo. Full calf with gilt roll boarder to the covers marbled endpapers and fore-edge painting of cricket players. Spine renewed to plain style near fine. no title-page. 8vo. F.C. and J. Rivington unknown
1809ST12251Londini: Impensis J. Johnson et al. 1809. 248 x 146 mm. 9 3/4 x 5 3/4". 2 p.l. 700 pp.With commentary by Christian Gottlob Heyne. <br/> HANDSOME CONTEMPORARY NAVY BLUE STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO DENSELY GILT covers with thick and thin gilt rule border and large central laurel wreath that on the front with the Latin motto "Honoris Causa" "For the sake of honor" that on the rear with the name Thomas T. Churton and the date 1817 raised bands spine lavishly gilt in compartments filled with foliage and small tools emanating from a central fleuron gilt titling and turn-ins all edges gilt. WITH A SPLENDID LATER PAINTING OF MOUNT ETNA ON THE FORE EDGE. In a recent plush-lined blue folding cloth box with gilt spine titling. With ink stamp of Bolton Public Library on verso of title and first page of text. Lowndes IV 2777. Corners slightly bumped boards a little faded first two gatherings mildly foxed isolated rust spots or faint freckled foxing but still AN ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE COPY the handsome binding virtually unworn the text clean and smooth and the unusual fore-edge painting very well preserved.<br/> <br/> This scholarly edition of Heyne's acclaimed Virgil comes in a fine contemporary binding with a noteworthy fore-edge painting. Dibdin Gibbon and Sandys all praise Heyne's edition of Virgil and Sandys credits him with being "the first who with any decisiveness attempted . . . to read in the writings of the Ancients not their language alone or even their detached opinions and records but their spirit and character their way of life and thought." First published in Leipzig in 1767-88 Heyne's edition was deemed "incomparable" by Dibdin and even inspired a poem by William Cowper "On Receiving Heyne's Virgil from Mr. Hayley." Our painting shows a coastal landscape in Sicily rendered in strong greens and deep blues. There is a bay on the left and a tiny village perched above the sandy beach with white-capped Mount Etna emitting a thin wisp of smoke in the background. Purplish clouds are gathering in the distance which combined with the smoking volcano lend a frisson of foreboding to an otherwise tranquil scene. As often the age of the painting is difficult to determine: not the work of any recognizable painter it is very probably not as old as the binding yet is almost certainly not something done during the last 100 years. In any case the quality of its execution is high and the subject matter--which is something quite different from the typical fore-edge design--is entirely appropriate for the classical contents of the book. The attractive binding indicates a milestone in the life of its owner Thomas Townson Churton 1798-1865. The phrase "Honoris Causa" on a 19th century binding or bookplate is often found in conjunction with an academic prize being granted and in 1817 Churton then a top student at Rugby School was awarded a prestigious "leaving exhibition" to support his further education which he duly started the same year at Brasenose College Oxford. He was one of only two students in his year granted the full seven-year exhibition funding that was more than sufficient to support undergraduate studies and beyond at the university. In keeping with the content of the book at hand and with the subject of its fore-edge painting Churton was a classicist and he excelled at Oxford as he had at Rugby being elected Dean of Brasenose in 1828 and being a Fellow from 1821 to 1852. Not emblazoned with the Rugby arms this exceedingly fine binding was possibly commissioned privately perhaps by family to commemorate Churton's superb performance at Rugby and in hopes of a bright future at Oxford. Impensis J. Johnson et al. unknown
188523716Edinburgh: Gall & Inglis 1885. Hardcover. Near fine. Illustrated with full page engravings on steel. Full green morocco. Spine in six compartments gilt and with red leather lettering labels gilt. Gilt rules on the board borders All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers and with the original decorated cloth cover as the front pastedown. A couple of pages at beginning and end with very light foxing else this is a fine copy.<br /> <p><br /> With a foredge painting of a sailing ship under the gilt. <br /> <p><br /> Felicia Dorothea Hemans 1793-1835 was a prolific poet of the Romantic Era. Her most famous poem Casabianca about a young boy on a burning ship during battle in included. Her poetry used vivid imagery as it explored various themes such as patriotism domesticity and the emotional lives of women.<br /> <p><br /> "The boy stood on the burning deck. Whence all but him had fled; <br /> The flame that lit the battle's wreck. Shone round him o'er the dead."<br /> <p>. Gall & Inglis hardcover
1844ST18420aFirenze Florence: David Passigli 1844. 85 x 53 mm. 3 3/8 x 2 1/8". 3 p.l. 326 2 section title 327-659 pp. <br/> Contemporary stiff vellum charmingly gilt covers with graceful gilt frame of volutes and flowers central ornament formed by similar tools smooth spine tooled with gilt volutes and flowers forming central panel with gilt lettering a small gilt bird of paradise above and below this marbled endpapers all edges gilt. WITH SPLIT FORE-EDGE PAINTINGS visible when the book is open at the section title for part II the painting on the first half of the leaves A SWEEPING CITY VIEW OF JERUSALEM that on the second part featuring THE DOME OF THE ROCK ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT. With engraved frontispiece portrait of the author and two engravings depicting scenes from the poem all with original tissue guards. Front pastedown with engraved armorial bookplate of William Dunville see below. Doris Varner Welsh A Bibliography of Miniature Books 6611. Corners lightly bumped one spot of light rubbing to gilt on upper cover isolated spots of faint foxing but A VERY FINE SPECIMEN clean and bright inside and out the fore-edge paintings well preserved.<br/> <br/> This delightful miniature edition is adorned with two fore-edge paintings showing different views of the title city both visible when the book is open to the title page of part II of Tasso's Crusader epic "Jerusalem Delivered." Given the restricted area available for a "canvas" our artist has done a remarkable job both in the level of detail and the sense of space and grandeur the scenes evoke so it is not surprising that this volume was in the Irene Winterstein Collection of Important Miniature Books Christie's sale of 10 March 2000 lot 277 fetching $1455 all in. This is a rare miniature edition: Welsh records only one copy in her bibliography. Our copy belonged to Irish bibliophile and philanthropist William Dunville 1812-1874 who was also a whiskey magnate and magistrate. After its first founder John Dunville died William Dunville his only surviving son became the next chairman of Dunville & Co Belfast who are still famous for their whiskey today. He headed the company from 1851 to 1874. David Passigli unknown
182017384London: Printed for Longman Hurst Rees & Orme 1820. Third edition. Illustrated by Five engravings intended to show the Different Stages of the Neutral Tint title vignette. 1 vols. 8vo. Original rose paper-backed blue boards printed paper label on upper cover Price 10s.6d. Boards.". Rubbed spine and edges worn interior quite fresh. A very good copy of this unusual work. Third edition. Illustrated by Five engravings intended to show the Different Stages of the Neutral Tint title vignette. 1 vols. 8vo. There are instructions and recipes for making the colors needed for painting on velvet at the back. A source for Theorem painters Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees & Orme unknown
1820ABC_45805China 1820. 47 x 61 cm. picture; 61 x 74.5 cm. frame. Oil painting on canvas in a black lacquered Chinese export frame. An elegant interior scene from a Chinese Mandarins home in the early nineteenth century: a Manchu Mandarin and his consort taking tea in a domestic setting. He wears non-official semi-formal winter attire including rank badge sitting beside ahis beautiful Chinese lady surrounded by fine furniture and fittings. The whole scene reflects his good taste and social standing.Whilst tea had been the driving force of the China Trade since the early eighteenth century giving rise to export paintings illustrating its cultivation and production process the style and subject of the early export paintings was firmly rooted in traditional Chinese art and culture as in this delightful painting.l Cf. Choi Kee Il Tea and design in Chinese export painting in: The Magazine Antiques vol. 154 no. 4 October 1998. unknown
1890FF2442London:: William Reeves n.d. ca.1890. 1890. Head of title: Flagellation & the Flagellants. Small 8vo. xi 1 544 pp. Frontis. 20 illus. index. Modern full black calf and triangle-shaped red morocco onlays raised bands gilt stamping upper cover with gilt central "rod and birch" motif all edges gilt marbled endleaves hand bound by Martin Frost with his gilt-stamped monogram label on rear board. Red cloth thumb-hold slip-case. Fine. "THE ALLURE OF THE WHIP!" With a splendid fore-edge painting showing a pair of horse or carriage riders "riding" their partners back-sides prominently showing in the spirit of Thomas Rowlandson and in this case like Martin Frost who often displays a remarkable sense of humor and the exotic for artistry. Frost's signed book label mounted as a bookplate in front dated 2007. The artist is playing with us by making the trees into the shape of a phallus all of them!. Painting also signed "MF". Frost himself describes this as "A Rowlandesque road scene of travelers 'whipping up' themselves as well as their mounts!" / This is one of the early efforts of MF to bind and paint the book himself. William Reeves, n.d. [ca.1890]. hardcover
1846FF2480Cantabrigiae:: J. et J.J. Deighton; Londini: Joh. Gul. Parker 1846. 1846. Two parts in one vol. 8vo. xii 13-335 1 pp. Title & leaves with red borders throughout. Text mostly in Latin and English with some Greek. Original full dark green gilt-stamped morocco raised bands all edges gilt "Bound by Dodd" Cambridge; rubbed. Foxed. Armorial bookplate of Thomas Sebastian Bayley M.A. "Finem Respice". With an erotic fore-edge painting showing a bedroom scene the young man wearing only his shirt lying in bed the nude lady-lover stroking his erect penis and taking some pleasure as his feet play between her legs. Painted for Harrington's London by their house artist ca. 1995. / The text is compiled by Drury with numerous poetic contributions from various sources. Includes "A Song of Sixpence." p. 113. Among the English selections are contributions by Samuel Rogers Gray Burns Shakespeare Tennyson Gammer Gurton unknown Sheridan Byron Andrew Marvel Ben Jonson Cowper Milton Congreve Prior Colton etc. "In 1838 Drury became classical lecturer at Caius but having been ordained he left Cambridge in 1839 to take sole charge of Alderley Gloucestershire a curacy which he exchanged the following year for that of Bromham Wiltshire. Drury together with some friends projected and published the Arundines Cami a collection of translations into Latin and Greek verse by several Cambridge men. The first edition was published in a beautiful form in 1841 and four subsequent editions appeared during Drury's lifetime; a sixth after his death was edited by his son-in-law Mr. H. J. Hodgson in 1865. These successive editions contained several new pieces." Wikipedia. See: "Sudden Death of the Archdeacon of Wilts and Chaplain to the House of Commons" The Times London Tuesday 27 Jan 1863 p. 8. PROVENANCE: Thomas Sebastian Bayley M.A. fl.ca.1855 Lancashire. J. et J.J. Deighton; Londini: Joh. Gul. Parker, 1846. hardcover
188280265London:: Kegan Paul Trench & Co. 1882. full gilt straight-grain morocco; gilt paneled spine by Sotheran & Co; a.e.g. Very fine. 8vo. With five folding colored maps. With a fine fore-edge painting by Miss Curre of Mucross Abbey Killarney. Bound in is a calligraphic colophon reading "This is No. 101 of the Books with Fore-edge Paintings by Miss Currie. The Painting under the gold is a view of Mucross Abbey Killarney Signed signature C.B. Currie." Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., unknown
1801FF2530London:: Printed for T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies by G.R. Clarke 1801. 1801. Small 8vo. xx ii 232 pp. Original full dark navy blue straight-grained morocco gilt Greek-key tooling surround five raised bands elaborate gilt compartments all edges gilt. Very good . With a fine fore-edge painting under the gilt showing "Christchurch in Hampshire here James Fordyce lived" inscribed in the artist's hand note somewhat unusual handwriting style and the use of parenthesis. With an early typed note in ALL CAPS relating to the painting take note of the sheet being hand-outlined in red. The artist possibly copied the engraving "Christchurch Hampshire" from the print by E. Finden after a picture by W. Westall published in Great Britain Illustrated 1830. This view shows the single rowboat in the foreground similar to the image with this fore-edge painting. Artist unknown; painted ca. 1900-1955. This scene is delicately and skillfully painted. The painting suggests early 20th century work though it is not signed and there are not yet any recognizable characteristics yet to suggest the artist's identity. Very finely painted view. / "Fordyce's delivery and gestures were studied and he drew crowds to Monkwell Street. His topics were didactic but he also satisfied cultured tastes and dealt with the ethics of actual life. David Garrick was impressed; Fordyce associated with Samuel Johnson and introduced him to Blair. He gave sympathetic account in Addresses to the Deity 1785 of Johnson's religious character speaking as an evangelical moderate." DNB. Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, by G.R. Clarke, 1801. hardcover
1832D19411London: T. & W. Boone 1832. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo full morocco gilt. a.e.g. With a fore-edge painting of Netley Abbey. Inscribed by the author. Armorial bookplate of Netley Abbey Hampshire. The binding with slight rubbing to extremities but still a quite nice copy. <br/><br/> T. & W. Boone hardcover
1820TK0306Parma:: Dalla Duclae Tipografia 1820. 1820. 8vo. iv III 1 312 pp. Original full dark red richly gilt-stamped calf all edges gilt blue silk endleaves; rubbed. Very good. With a modern erotic fore-edge painting applied to these civil codes of Parma civil penal code somewhat a sound-alike for 'penis'. This fore-edge painting supports two nude male statues each with matching erect penises two either side of a lover's mattress both in a naked embrace. While it is possible to think this is a homosexual scene if maybe also a heterosexual one – just that it is not painted in quite an identifiable way. Perhaps as the artist intended. Perhaps a hidden joke is the 'penal code' aspect of this text the Romanesque style of the painting would further support the homosexual display a known Roman relationship. c340/113 Dalla Duclae Tipografia, 1820. unknown
1884TK0295London:: Kegan Paul Trench 1884. 1884. 8vo. xliv 2 336 pp. Original full maroon blind- and gilt-stamped morocco raised bands gilt spine title all edges gilt gilt inner dentelles marbled endsheets. Very good. With a modern double fore-edge painting of two anglers on their rowboat. Commissioned or painted by a house artist for Harrington's ca. 1990s-2010. c340/102 Kegan Paul, Trench, 1884. hardcover
18206281London: Taylor and Hessey 1820. Fourth edition. A superb example. Twelvemo 6 3/8 x 3 7/8 inches; 162 x 98 mm. 2 blank iv 1-174 2 blank pp. Inscribed by the author on the first blank: "Wiggiston from J. Taylor." Bound ca. 1820 by Taylor and Hessey Booksellers London in full maroon straight-grain morocco. Covers decoratively paneled in gilt and blind spine with five raised bands decoratively tooled in gilt and blind and lettered in gilt in compartments decorative gilt board edges and turn-ins lilac endpapers all edges gilt. With a fine contemporary fore-edge painting by Taylor & Hessey depicting a view of Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. <br /> <br /> English novelist and poet Jane Taylor 1783-1824 perhaps better known for her collaborative authorship with her sister Ann was the voice behind "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Taylor's verses have been here delightfully bound by Taylor and Hessey. The Firm was at its height between 1808-1823 working in both publishing and fine bindings. Their work is usually identifiable from their use of colored Morocco and gilt-stamp name on the foredge of their book boards. Taylor & Hessey also employed a foredge painter whose identity remains lost but whose work predominantly features buildings and landscapes. Of the twenty-four books in American libraries studied by Weber only one exception can be found in the "copy of Mrs. Tighe's Psyche London 1811 on the fore-edge of which 'the Marlborough Gem' is painted" Weber. Here the fore-edge painting depicts the old Premonstratensian Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire. The ancient monastery founded by Thomas de Cuckney in 1140 appears in the famous Domesday Book. Taylor and Hessey unknown
18486282London: Henry G. Bohn 1848. First edition. Octavo 8 5/8 x 5 5/8 inches; 219 x 143 mm. viii 1-453 1 blank pp. Engraved frontispiece engraved vignette title-page and twenty-four fine engraved plated by George Cattermole. Bound ca. 1910 by Rivière & Son in full maroon straight-grain morocco covers elaborately bordered in gilt and blind spine with five raised bands elaborately tooled in gilt and blind and lettered in gilt in compartments. Gilt-ruled board edges gilt decorated turn-ins pink endpapers all edges gilt. A very fine example with the remains of the bookplate of Frederick S. Peck and an old bookseller's descriptions on front paste-down. Housed in a felt-lined burgundy cloth clamshell case spine with leather label lettered in gilt. Fore-edge painting by Miss C.B. Currie depicting Haddon Hall. Together with a letter of authenticity from Jeff Weber and the original receipted invoice to Randall Moscovitz dated September 5 2012.<br /> <br /> Featuring a delicate fore-edge painting by Miss C.B. Currie "showing the dignity and grandeur of Haddon Hall. flanked by towering trees and beautiful greensward. Horses are being led to their stable by a groom and a mounted horseman can be seen in the middle distance talking to two young ladies" Weber. The artist Miss C.B. Currie Caroline Billin Curry 1849-1940 was one of the most beloved book painters of the 20th century who spent the majority of her career working for Henry Sotheran Booksellers in London. "She became famous for her miniature paintings applied to two art forms. First on ivory mounted on Rivière bindings and named by her employer as "Cosway" bindings. Later she expanded her work into the art of painting on the fanned edge of a book -- called a fore-edge painting. Most of these paintings were signed and numbered by the artist. Whereas fore-edge painting history is replete with unknown artists Currie is a notable exception. In the book world the name Miss C.B. Currie is widely recognized yet her personal life and real name remained guarded and unknown until now. It turns out her name was in fact partly a pseudonym. Though her work is highly prized there is no known published biography. Her correct full name was recently discovered to be Caroline Billin Curry. During her entire artistic career Curry used the slightly altered version of her name "Currie". Her true full name is not to be found in any published record of her work from Sotheran's" Weber.<br /> <br /> Although unsigned expert Jeff Weber firmly attributes the painting on this book to Miss C.B. Currie based on style and binding. He explains ". though unsigned and as such this is the only known book without a Currie signature but bears all the signs of having been painted by her. It is on the Rivière binding it lacks the usual "colophon" leaf seen with nearly all other Currie paintings. Currie painted both fore-edge paintings and Cosway miniatures on ivory both in bindings commissioned and bound for Sotheran's by Rivière and Son. There are Currie paintings on ivory that are datable to pre-1910 and yet they are not signed. Peck was an active book buyer during this same period his home and library was built in 1905 raising the likelihood that he bought a Currie fore-edge prior to her signing them" Weber. <br /> <br /> Provenance: Frederick S. Peck - Parke-Bernet Galleries November 14-15 1944 lot 114; G.J. Guthrie Nicholson Parke-Bernet Galleries November 8-9 1948 lot 231; Jeff Weber Rare Books - sold to Randall Moscovitz September 5th 2012. Frederick S. Peck 1868-1947 born in Providence Rhode Island became a Legislator and lived in Barrington R.I. His papers are located at the Rhode Island Historical Society. <br /> <br /> Weber Annotated Dictionary of Fore-Edge Painting 306. Henry G. Bohn unknown
1853TK0394Paris :: Furne et ce 1853. 1853. 8vo. xv 1 393 1 pp. Half-title engraved frontispiece portrait engr. plates. Original quarter black morocco raised bands gilt-stamped spine black cloth with blind-stamping all edges gilt marbled endsheets. Bound by Henri Fauconnier with their gilt-stamp at the foot of the spine. Very good. With gravures by T. Johannot./ The book has a fore-edge painting applied showing a portrait of the author La Fontaine and a book-side scene with a man fishing. The scene represents "Le Petit Poisson et le Pêcheur" In this fable a poor fisherman catches a very small carp. The tiny fish begs for its life arguing that it is too small to make a proper meal and asking to be released until it grows bigger at which point it would be worth much more. / Sold by Harrington's without their cost-marks. Probably commissioned by or represented by that firm just after it was painted likely a house artist the period of execution being the mid-1990s. Furne et ce, 1853. hardcover
180971005hLondon: Vernor Hood and Sharpe 1809. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. Contemporary full gilt green straight-grain morocco with gilt edges and grey endpapers. "Taylor and Hessey" mark to fore-edges of boards. With a hidden fore-edge painting of a marine scene of Richmond Bridge on the Thames. Light scuffing to covers. Old owner's name to front fly-leaf. Otherwise clean tight and unmarked. Very neat -- a sound and handsome copy. With matching cloth-bound slip-case. Vernor, Hood and Sharpe Hardcover
