Tour by Time Period ||  Tour by Subject || Introduction || Home

Victorian Bookbinding

Catalogue

The exhibit catalogue includes all books from the exhibit held in the UNT Libraries' Rare Book Room, April 1st - September 30th.

Each book featured in the online exhibit is linked to its accompanying image in the "Tour by Time Period" section.

 

Ainsworth, William Harrison. Cardinal Pole: or, The Days of Philip and Mary. London: Chapman and Hall, 1865.

Alighieri, Dante. La Divina Commedia. 2 vols. London: G. Pickering, 1822.

Arnold, Edwin. Japonica. New York: Charles Scribner’s  Sons, 1891.

Brown cloth blocked in gold, brown, green, beige, gray, and red on front, and gold, brown, green, and gray on spine.

Arnold, Matthew. Poems by Matthew Arnold. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, ca. 1890.

Arthur, T. S., ed. The True Path; and How to Walk Therein. Philadelphia: Theodore Bliss & Co., 1868.

Dark-purple-dyed, pebble-grain morocco.

Audsley, George A., and James L. Bowes. Keramic Art of Japan. London: Henry Sotheran, 1881.

Black sand-grained cloth blocked in gold on front, spine, and back.

 

Bacon, M. A. Winged Thoughts. London: Longman & Co., 1851.

The binding is designed by Owen Jones and is different on front, spine, and back. It was executed by the firm of Remnant and Edmonds, and was created with “relievo” binding, where the design is embossed in leather in relief.    

Bain, John, Jr. Tobacco Leaves. Boston: H. M. Caldwell Co., 1903.

Bain, John, Jr. Tobacco in Song and Story. New York: H. M. Caldwell Co., 1896.

Suede blocked in gold.   

Ball, Nicholas. The Pioneers of '49: A History of the Excursion of the Society of California Pioneers of New England, from Boston to the Leading Cities of the Golden State, April 10-May 17, 1890. Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1891.

Ballantyne’s Miscellany. 13 vols. London: James Nisbet & Co., 1869.

Balzac. Droll Stories Collected from the Abbeys of Touraine. London: William Mitchell and Company, ca.1880.

Red cloth blocked in gold and black on the front and spine. Cover design after the illustrations by Gustave Doré.

Beauty and the Beast. London: Dean & Son, 1873.

Bloomfield, Robert. The Works of Robert Bloomfield. London: Routledge, Warne, & Routledge, 1864.

Blue sand-grained cloth, with beveled boards

Bonhomme, Honoré. La Société Galante et Littéraire au XVIIIe Siècle. Paris: Édouard Rouveyre, 1880.

            Binding: Chambolle-Duru
Orange morocco leather, with paneled spine, gilt lettering, and gilt rules and stamps.

Burns, Robert. The National Burns. Ed. George Gilfillan. London: William Mackenzie, ca. 1879. 4 vols.

Green sand-grained cloth blocked in gold, red, and black on front, gold and black on spine, and in blind on back, with beveled boards. This binding is an example of a medallion design.

 

Burns, Robert. Poems and Songs. Edina Edition. London: William P. Nimmo, 1875.

Brown cloth blocked in gold and black on front and spine, in blind on back, with beveled boards.

Bryant, William Cullen. The Song of the Sower. New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1871.

Green sand-grained cloth blocked in gold and black on front, gold on spine, and in blind on back, with beveled boards

Carleton, Will. City Ballads. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1886.

Blue cloth blocked in gold, black and brown on front, gold on spine, and in blind on back.

Carleton, Will. Farm Ballads. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1873.

Green cloth blocked in gold and black on front and spine, black on back.

Chapelain, Jean. La Pucelle ou La France Délivrée. Paris: Librairie Marpon et Flammarion, 1891.

Red cloth blocked in gold, black, gray, and blue on front, spine, and back. A good example of a design that encompasses front and back boards and spine.

Chapman, John K., ed. The Court Theatre and Royal Dramatic Record. London: Chapman and Company, ca.1849.

Roan leather embossed with sand grain, blocked in gold and blind on front, spine, and back. Roan was thin sheepskin dyed and embossed to look like morocco (fine goatskin). The cover design is a wonderful example of the extravagant use of gilt decoration.

Chatterbox. New York: Frank Leslie’s Publishing House, 1879-80.

Glazed paper printed from wood.

Cisneros, Evangelina. The Story of Evangelina Cisneros. New York: Continental Publishing Co., 1908.

Green linen-texture cloth blocked in black and gold on front, gold on spine. Elements of Art Nouveau style linger in the curving letters and decoration, but the loose spacing of the elements is much more “modern” in its effect.

Conrad, Joseph. The Mirror of the Sea: Memories and Impressions. London: Methuen & Co., 1906.

A fine vellum binding either commissioned by Conrad himself or by Lord Balfour, to whom this copy is inscribed.

Crowe, Eyre. With Thackeray in America. London: Cassell and Company Limited, 1893.

Green cloth blocked in gold and green on front, gold on spine, and blind on back, with beveled edges.

Da Vinci, Leonardo. Thoughts on Art and Life. Trans. By Maurice Baring. Boston: The Merrymount Press, 1906.

Binding signed “E.M.Q.”
Navy leather, with paneled spine, gilt lettering, and gilt rules and stamps.

Davis, Carlyle Channing, and William A. Alderson. The True Story of “Ramona”: Its Facts and Fictions, Inspiration and Purpose. New York: Dodge Publishing Company, 1914.

Decorum: A Practical Treatise on Etiquette and Dress of the Best American Society. New York: J.A. Ruth, 1879.

Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey’s Clock. 3 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1840.

Purple rib-grained cloth blocked in gold and blind on cover and spine, and in blind on back. The different settings of the clock (i.e., one o’clock for Vol. 1, two o’clock for Vol. 2, and three o’clock for Vol. 3) identify this set as the first printing of this “three-decker” novel.

Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. May 1864-November 1865. London: Chapman and Hall.

Many of Dickens’s novels were first published in 20 monthly parts. The cover is colored paper printed from wood.

Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. 2 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1865.

Sand-grained red morocco spine and corners, with sand-grained red cloth for front and back boards, blocked in gold on front, spine, and back. This first “book” edition of Dickens’s novel was primarily made up of the original parts bound together.

 

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. London: Chapman & Hall, 1871-1880. 22 vols.

Green cloth blocked in gold and black on front, gold on spine, and in blind on back. This is an American issue of the British plates, as identified by the imprint of New York: D. Appleton & Co. on the cover.

 

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. London: George Newnes, 1902.

The first book edition of this famous Sherlock Holmes story. The use of the line-block drawing in contrast to the colored cloth looks stylistically to the bindings of the 1920s and 1930s.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. Candle-Lightin’ Time. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1901.

Green cloth blocked in gold, black, brown, and white on front, and gold on spine.

The Easter Eggs, and Red and White Roses. Edinburgh: William Oliphant, ca. 1880.

Euwer, Anthony H. Christopher Cricket on CATS. New York: The Little Book Concern, 1909.

Paper paste-on label with “artistic lettering” and a macabre use of Art Nouveau design.

Evenings at Home, or Fireside Reading. Chicago: J. A. Ruth, 1889.

Green cloth blocked in gold, silver, and black on front, gold and black on spine, and blind on back.

Ewing, Juliana Horatia. Lob Lie-by-the-Fire or the Luck of Lingborough. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Fitzhugh. Cuba’s Struggle against Spain: With the Causes for American Intervention and a Full Account of the Spanish-American War. Richmond: B. F. Johnson Publishing Company, 1898.

Green cloth blocked in gold, black, red, and white on front, back, and front flap. This is a salesman’s sample, presenting a representative chapter and illustrations, and showing the different bindings available for the book.

France, Anatole. Rôtisserie de la Reine Pédauque. Paris: Édouard Pelletan, 1911.

Frémont, John Charles. Memoirs of My Life, with a Sketch of the Life of Senator Benton by Jessie Benton Frémont. Chicago: Clarke & Co., 1887.

Brown cloth blocked in gold, black, silver, blue, and red on front; gold, black, blue, and red on spine; with beveled boards.

Gilchrist, Alexander. Life of William Blake. 2 vols. London: Macmillan and Co., 1880.

Blue cloth blocked in gold on front and spine. Cover design by Frederick Shields after an original design by William Blake.

Glückliche Kinderzeit. Ca. 1880.

Goldsmith, Oliver. The Citizen of the World; or Letters from a Chinese Philosopher, Residing in London, to his Friends in the East. 2 vols. London: Printed for the Author, 1762.

Binding: Rivière and Son.
Green morocco leather, with paneled spine, gilt lettering, gilt dentelles, and gilt rules and stamps.

Greenaway, Kate (illustrator). Browning, Robert. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. London: Frederick Warne.

Glazed paper covers on boards.

Greene, Robert. Greene’s Groats-Worth of Wit: Bought with a Million of Repentance. Kent: Lee Priory Press, 1813.

Grimm, M. M. German Popular Stories. 2 vols. London: C. Baldwin, 1823.

Binding: Sangorski and Sutcliffe.
Blue morocco leather, with paneled spine, gilt lettering, and gilt rules and stamps.

Gunter, Archibald Clavering. Mr. Potter of Texas. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1888.

Hayne, Paul H. Sonnets, and Other Poems. Charleston: Harper and Calvo, 1857.

Brown cloth blocked in gold on front, spine, back, and edges.

Herbert, George. The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse, Edited from the Latest Editions, with Memoir, Explanatory Notes, Etc. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1880.

Herrick, Robert. Selections from the Poetry of Robert Herrick. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1882.

Tan cloth blocked in gold, black, yellow, and red on front, and black, yellow, and red on spine and back.

Hetty Baker; or, Proud and Humble. Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1859.

 

Housman, Laurence. Green Arras. London: John Lane, 1896.

Green cloth blocked in gold on front and spine. Cover designed by Laurence Housman.

Jackson, Mary Anna. Memoirs of Stonewall Jackson. Louisville: The Prentice Press, 1895.

Green cloth blocked in gold and black on front and spine.

Jacob, P. L. Directoire, Consulat et Empire. Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1884.

Red sand-grained cloth blocked with gold on front, spine, and back. Cover designed in Directoire style, which favored ornate floral and architectural decorations.

Johnson, Samuel. Sermons by Samuel Johnson. London: J. Sharpe, 1819.

Brown stamped binding, blocked in gold and black on front, spine, and back. A good example of a “cathedral binding,” so-called from the stamped design on the cover.

Kindliche Hingabe an Jesus: Vollständiges Gebetbüchlein, besonders für jüngere Leute. Einsiedeln: Eberle, Käline & Cie, 1891.

Brown leather deeply embossed, blocked in blind and gold on front and spine, and blind on back, with brass edging and clasp. A Victorian imitation of a medieval prayerbook binding.

Knox, Thomas W. The Boy Travellers in Mexico. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890.

Pink cloth blocked in gold, black, and red on front and spine, black on back.

 

Latrobe, Charles Joseph. The Rambler in North America, MDCCCXXXII-MDCCCXXXIII. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1835.

 

Lawson, Lizzie, and Robert Ellice Mack. Under the Mistletoe. New York: E. P. Dutton.

Lawson, W. B. Dashing Diamond Dick, Jr. in Danger, or a Queer Game at Maverick. New York: Street & Smith, 1900.

Le Mair, Henriette Willebeek (illustrator). Little Songs of Long Ago. London: Augener, ca.1910.

Vellum blocked in gold on front, spine, and back, with paper onlays.

Le Mair, Henriette Willebeek (illustrator). Old Dutch Nursery Rhymes. London: Augener, ca.1910.

Vellum blocked in gold on front, spine, and back, with paper onlays.

Lewis, Judd Mortimer. Sing the South. Houston: J. V. Dealy Company, 1905.

Dark green cloth blocked in gold and blind on front, gold on spine, with a rectangular photograph onlay.

Llull, Ramon. The Order of Chivalry. Trans. William Caxton. Hammersmith, Middlesex: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

In their desire to recapture the style of the Middle Ages, this unadorned limp vellum binding is typical of productions of the famous private press of the Arts and Crafts movement: Kelmscott, Doves, Ashendene, and Eragny.

Lockhart, J.G. Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott. London: John Murray and Whittaker and Company, 1837-1838.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poems. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1893.

Brown moiré silk blocked in gold on front and spine.

Les Maîtres de l’Affiche. 2 vols.  Paris: Imprimerie Chaix, 1896.

Blue cloth blocked in green, black, and beige on front, spine, and back, with beveled boards. One of the most famous publications of art of the Art Nouveau period, this series contains splendid lithographed posters by such artists as Toulouse-Lautrec, Mucha, and Will Bradley.

Malory, Thomas Sir. Le Morte d’Arthur. J. M. Dent, 1893-1894.

Tan linen blocked in gold on front, back, and spine. Cover design by Aubrey Beardsley.

March, Daniel. Our Father’s House, or the Unwritten Word. Philadelphia: Zeigler, McCurdy & Co., 1870.

Brown leather, with beveled boards.

Meredith, Owen. Lucile. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell. Three different editions from the 1880s.

Milton, John. The Poetical Works of John Milton. London: George Routledge and Sons, ca.1880.

Blue-gray cloth, with beveled boards.

Montagu, Irving. Wanderings of a War Artist. London: W. H. Allen & Co., 1889.

Green cloth blocked in gold, black, red, pink, and white on front and spine, gold on back.

Oeser, Christian. Briefe an eine Jungfrau über die Hauptgegenstände der Aesthetik. Leipzig: F. Brandstetter, 1892.

 

Red cloth deeply embossed, blocked in gold, black, and blind on front, gold on spine, and in blind on back, with beveled boards.

 

Petrarca, Francesco. Le Rime del Petrarca. London: G. Pickering, 1822.

Pike, Luke Owen. History of Crime in England. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1873.

Pope, Alexander. The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope. Boston: D. Lothrop & Company, 1883.

Maroon cloth blocked in gold and black on front and spine, with beveled boards.

Punch. London: New Library Series, 1885-1886.

Glazed paper printed from wood.

Ralph, Julian. On Canada’s Frontier. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1892. Illustrated by Frederic Remington.

Brown cloth blocked in gold and black on the front and spine.

Rickard, T. A. Journeys of Observation. San Francisco: Dewey Publishing Company, 1907.

Rossetti, Christina. New Poems. London: Macmillan and Company, 1896.

Blue cloth blocked in gold on front and spine, and in blind on back.

Rossetti, Christina. The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems. London: Macmillan and Company, 1866.

Green cloth blocked in gold on front, spine, and back.

Rossetti, Christina. Speaking Likenesses. London: Macmillan, 1874. Illustrated by Arthur Hughes.

Blue cloth blocked in gold on front and spine, and in blind on back. From a design by Arthur Hughes.

 

Russell, Robert Howard. The Delft Cat and Other Stories. New York: R. H. Russell & Son, 1896.

Ivory cloth blocked in blue on front, spine, and back, in imitation of the style of Delft tiles. The simplicity of this design looks forward to binding designs of the 1920s and 1930s.

Salzmann, C. G. Elements of Morality, for the Use of Children, with an Introductory Address to Parents. Trans. Mary Wollstonecraft. 3 vols. London: Printed by J. Crowder for J. Johnson, 1791.

Binding: Unsigned, but in the style of Sangorski and Sutcliffe.
Red ribbed morocco leather, with paneled spine, gilt lettering, and gilt rules and stamps.

Sand, George. Consuelo: A Novel. Trans. Fayette Robinson. London: Walter Scott, ca. 1900.

Scott, Walter, Sir. Halidon Hill: A Dramatic Sketch, from Scottish History. Philadelphia: H.C. Carey & I. Lea, 1822.

Scott, Walter, Sir. The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, ca. 1890.

Brown cloth blocked with gold and black.

Scott, Sir Walter. The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. London: Frederick Warne & Company, ca.1900.

Transparent vellum (called “vellucent”) over painted paper, gold border on front, spine, and back, and gilt dentelles on inside cover. Believed to be the work of binder Cedric Chivers of Bath, England.

Sierra, Justo. Mexico: Its Social Evolution. Mexico: J. Ballescá and Company, 1900-1904.

Green sand-grained cloth blocked in gold and blind on front, and leather blocked in gold and brown on spine.

Shakespeare, William. The Plays of Shakespeare. 9 vols. London: Pickering, 1825.

Binding: Zaehnsdorf.
Red morocco leather, with paneled spine, gilt lettering, and gilt dentelles.

Shakespeare, William. Sentiments and Similes of William Shakespeare. Ed. Henry Noel Humphreys. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851.

            Binding: Papier-Mâché
Black papier-mâché, with center ovals in terra cotta on front and back.

Smith, F. Berkeley. Parisians Out of Doors. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1905.

Red cloth blocked in black and beige on front, gold and beige on spine, with a square paper onlay. The bold cloth coloring and use of  straight lines are clear departures from the Art Nouveau and fin de siècle artistic styles.

The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly. London: George Newnes, 1891.

Blue cloth blocked in black on front, and gold and black on the spine, with beveled boards.

Swinburne, Algernon Charles. Songs Before Sunrise. London: F. S. Ellis, 1871.

Blue cloth blocked in gold on front, spine, and back.

Tennyson, Alfred. The Lady of Shalott. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1881. Illustrated by Howard Pyle.

Green cloth blocked in gold, black, and red on front, and gold on spine, with beveled boards. Cover design by Howard Pyle.

Todd, John. Lectures to Children, Familiarly Illustrating Important Truth. London: George Routledge and Sons, ca. 1880.

Green cloth blocked in black, red, and white on front and spine. The subject matter and the wrap-around pictorial illustration prefigure a favorite style of the 1940s.

A Trip through the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. [Portland, ME: Chisholm Bros] ca.1870s.

Red cloth blocked in gold and black on front, and in blind on back. The inked scenes on the cover are reproduced from wood engravings.

True Heroism. Edinburgh: Gall & Inglis, ca. 1880.

Tschantre, Gracia. Tin Tan Tales. London: Ernest Nister; New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, ca. 1895.

Tuttle, Charles, R. Tuttle's Popular History of the Dominion of Canada. Montréal: D. Downie & Company, 1877.

Black sand-grained cloth blocked in gold on front, spine, and back. An interesting Canadian binding, patterned after medieval clasped books yet utilizing native elements of design.

Von Liliencron, Detlev. Kampf und Spiele. Berlin: Schufter & Loeffler, 1897.

Von Liliencron, Detlev. Nebel und Sonne. Berlin: Schufter & Loeffler, 1900.

Brown cloth blocked in gold, black, and green, and gold on spine. An excellent example of Jugendstil, the corresponding Art Nouveau movement in Germany. This particular design is based on the author’s name: Lilien = lily, Cron = crown.

Whitaker, Evelyn. Tip Cat. London: Walter Smith, 1886.

Blue cloth with leaf design blocked in green and orange on front and back; lettering blocked in gold on front and spine. Lettering is strongly reminiscent of Pre-Raphaelite designs.

Wild Animal Stories: A Panorama Picture Book. London: Ernest Nister; New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, ca. 1899.

The Yellow Book: An Illustrated Quarterly. London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane, 1894-1900.

Yellow cloth blocked in black on front, spine, and back. Cover designed by Aubrey Beardsley. Volumes 1-4 designed by Beardsley.