Binding

A. A. Turbayne

1896

A blue cloth with a gilt pattern

7¼ x 5 inches

This book is one of the ‘Peacock Series’ issued by Macmillan in the mid 90s. Turbayne’s designs were used interchangeably, usually with little regard for the connection between the contents and the binding. Though an organic motif, the pattern shown here is tightly organized, suggesting both plant-life and the rhythms of the sea; an abstract representation of ‘nature’ in the broader sense of the term, it typifies the artist’s deployment of the language of Art Nouveau. .

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Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

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