Binding

Albert Henry Warren; unsigned

1858

Green cloth with a gilt design and a chromolithographic inlay

8¼ x 6 inches

This binding is a variant on version one, differing only from the original in its presentation of a chromolithographic mandorla by the illustrator, Birket Foster. The book is a good example of the flexibility of cloth bindings which allowed for new elements to be introduced. In this case the brass die used to impress the gilt patterning in version one must have been made of two parts – one for the border and one for the central panel. In version two, the gilt mandorla is replaced by the paper design. This must have placed by hand and glued on, a practice that exemplifies the curious mixture of industrial process and handicraft that was used to produce the gift books of the period.

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Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

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