1877 Rev. J. G. Wood Natural History
1877 Rev. J. G. Wood Natural History
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Published by George Routledge and Sons in London with their New York office on Broome Street, this volume contains four hundred and eighty original wood engravings by William Harvey. The illustrations are remarkable. The Indian rhinoceros wading through water, the resplendent trogon perched on its branch, the brush turkey at its mound: each plate is rendered with the patience and detail that only Victorian wood engraving could achieve.
What draws me to this copy is the binding. Deep blue pebbled cloth with an elaborate gilt ecclesiastical medallion on the front board, showing a seated scholarly figure surrounded by Latin inscription. The spine is done in three-quarter tan calf with rich gilt tooling across six compartments, a red morocco title label, and marbled endpapers in deep crimson and teal that are almost paintings in their own right. This is a prize binding in every sense, the kind of book given as a gift to someone meant to rise in the world.
The binding is sound and attractive overall. The blue cloth boards remain rich in color with the gilt medallion bright and fully legible, showing light surface scratches and minor rubbing at the edges and corners consistent with age. The leather spine displays beautiful gilt tooling with some age-appropriate wear at the head and tail, and minor chipping at the crown. The red morocco title label is intact and clearly legible. The marbled endpapers are vibrant and undamaged. The text block is clean and tight, with the occasional light foxing to the preliminaries and fore-edges as is typical of paper from this period. The wood engravings throughout are crisp and well-inked. A handsome Victorian prize-style binding that presents beautifully on the shelf.
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Every antique and vintage item we carry has lived a life before arriving in your home. These are not factory-made products. They are objects with history, character, and the marks of time.
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