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Click on a picture below or scroll down to see a selection of our Fine Bindings
A PDF file of our latest catalogue (text only) can be down-loaded here.
or visit our shop in Curzon St, London
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| Antiquarian - Pre 1700 | Nineteenth Century | Modern Literature | Children | Illustrated & Private Press |
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| Poetry | Sets | Sports and Pastimes | Sangorski Specials | Erotica |
ANTIQUARIAN - 'The Golden Age of English Bookbinding'
| 1. The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry The Seventh Written by
the Right Honourable Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban The tomb of Henry VIIth in Westminster Abbey, designed by an Italian sculptor commissioned by his son Henry VIIIth, brought the art of the Florentine Renaissance to England. We wanted to reflect this love of ornate decoration in our choice of binding. The book was published in the last years of the reign of James 1st but we have chosen a binding style associated with the later part of the 17th century. Often referred to as the 'Golden Age of English Bookbinding', the bindings of the Restoration Period (1660-1700) are noted for their highly decorative style, made famous by a group of binders known as the Queens' binders.
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ANTIQUARIAN - Evelyn's Great Book on Forest Trees
| 2. Evelyn, John; Sylva or ‘a Discourse of Forest-Trees, and the Propogation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions’ …
‘To which is annexed Pomona; or, An Appendix
concerning Fruit-Trees in relation to Cider; The making and several ways
of ordering it’ …‘Also, Kalendrium Hortense; Or, the Gard’ners Almanac;
Directing what he is to do monthly throughout the year’.
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| 4. Muddock, J.E.; ‘For Valour’ ‘The VC’ A record of the Brave and Noble Deeds for which Her Majesty has bestowed the Victoria Cross, from its institution to the present date. Compiled and Edited from the State Papers.
With illustrations by G.H.Edwards
£1,775.00 |
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NINETEENTH CENTURY - The First Book in English on Vampires
| 5. Polidori, John William; The Vampyre, a tale Printed for Sherwood, Neely, and Jones London, 1819 i-xxv, 1-84, 12pp adverts Second Issue Demy Octavo 150×232mm Legend has it that it was at the Villa Diodata, on the shores of Lake Geneva, that Byron suggested to the assembled guests that they should try writing a horror story. The guests included Mary Wolstencraft Godwin (later Mary Shelley) who would eventually be known as the author of Frankenstein. John Polidori, Byron’s physician at the time, wrote the The Vampyre and it first appeared in print in the April 1819 number of the New Monthly Magazine, published as ‘The Vampyre; a Tale by Lord Byron’. Using Byron’s name was a deliberate deception, and it seems to have upset both men. In the arguments that followed, the sheets were taken up by another London publisher, Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, and only one or two copies of the book are known to have survived with Lord Byron’s name on the title-page. The book was soon re-issued with no attribution of authorship on the title page, which is the second issue as seen here. Despite the confusion, Polidori started a ‘Vampire’ tradition that lead eventually to Bram Stoker’s Dracula and in more modern times countless cinematic and literary evocations of the vampire as a sophisticated nobleman who exerts a sexual fascination over both male and female victims. Polidori’s book is the first book in English to cast the vampire in a role that is familiar to us today. Bowed down by gambling debts, the author died from poisoning a few years after the publication of this book. The Binding The binding is unashamedly Gothic in inspiration, making use of a spectacular nineteenth century brass block of a ‘Vampire bat’. Bound in full black calf with four raised bands, the spine is tooled in the manner of an early nineteenth century binding; the boards however are a little more creative, with the afor mentioned bat descending through a Gothic arch surrounded by gold urns. The book has red hand-made endpapers and is housed in a leather-entry slipcase. £5,375.00 |
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NINETEENTH CENTURY - Sherlock Holmes Returns
| 6. Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan; The Return of Sherlock Holmes McClure, Phillips & Co., New York, 1905 Illustrated by Charles Raymond Macauley Crown Octavo (140x190mm) First edition, preceding first English edition. The Binding Bound in black morocco goatskin, with leather onlays depicting the famous Holmes’s pipe, from which appears some lines of text tooled in white gold: 'I am not a fanciful person but I give you my word that I seemed to hear Moriarty’s voice screaming at me out of the Abyss.' Housed in a leather-entry slipcase. £1,780.00 |
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NINETEENTH CENTURY - The Art of Perfumery
| 7. Rimmel, Eugene; The Book of Perfumes Chapman and Hall, London, 1867 Crown Octavo 145 x 200mm Profusely illustrated, this charming book is an informative look at the production and history of perfume in the nineteenth century. Eugene Rimmel (1820-1887), was a French perfumer and businessman responsible for manufacturing and marketing some of the earliest commercially made cosmetics. He joined his father's perfumery business in London's Bond Street in 1834 and founded the House of Rimmel. They went on to produce their first cosmetic products the same year. He and his father introduced the first commercial non-toxic mascara product. It became so popular that Rimmel is to this day the word for mascara in several languages including French and Italian. The Binding Bound in French red straight-grain morocco goatskin and hand-tooled in gold leaf. The endpapers are made from a delicate pale blue and turquoise Japanese Chiyogami hand-printed paper. £1,650.00 |
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NINETEENTH CENTURY - Sweeney Todd
| 8. [Sweeney Todd]; The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 576pp bound together in forty-eight weekly parts London circa 1840 Super Royal Octavo (175x250mm) The forty-eight parts are each headed by a full page woodcut illustration, all in remarkably clean condition. The Binding Bound in black morocco, with a leather onlay of a barber’s cut-throat knife on the front board. The book is housed in a black full leather drop-back box, with further onlays in red leather depicting ‘splattered blood’. The title on the spine is hand-tooled in white gold. £3,865.00 |
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NINETEENTH CENTURY - A Good Trollope
| 9. Trollope, A.; The Last Chronicle of Barset (2 Vols) With 32 Illustrations by George Thomas Smith, Elder and Co., 1867 Demy Octavo 145×215mm First edition, no half-titles, but a good clean two-volume copy of this classic Trollope novel. This is the last book in the series known as the ‘Chronicles of Barsetshire’. The Binding Bound in brown morocco goatskin, decorated with single line and decorative rolls to the boards and spine. The two volumes are housed in double leather-entry slipcase. £1,585.00 |
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| 11. Benchley, Peter; Jaws Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, 1974; Crown Octavo (145x210mm) First American Edition of this 70s cult classic. The Binding Bound in red morocco, with black leather onlays running across the spine and both boards depicting the word ‘JAWS’, the letter ‘A’ drawn in the shape of a shark’s head pointing vertically upwards £1,135.00 |
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MODERN LITERATURE - 2001
| 12. Blixen, Karen; Out of Africa Random House, New York, 1938; Crown Octavo (140x210mm) First American edition Out of Africa is a memoir by Isak Dinesan, a nom de plume used by the Danish author Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke. The book, first published in 1937 in Danish, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then British East Africa. It is a vivid snapshot of African colonial life in the last decades of the British Empire. Blixen wrote the book in English and then translated it into Danish. The Binding Bound in a black straight-grain goatskin, with a design running across the front and back boards depicting an African landscape. The design is hand-tooled in gold-leaf using brass gouges, and the setting sun is picked out in a red leather onlay. The book is housed in a black leather-entry slipcase. £900.00 |
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MODERN LITERATURE - Signed edition of 2001
| 14. Clarke, Arthur C.; 2001 a space odyssey Hutchinson, London, 1968 Crown Octavo (135x188mm); First UK edition Signed on the front pastedown by the two leading actors from the film, Gary Lockwood who played ‘Frank Poole’ and Keir Dullea who played ‘Dave Bowman’. The Binding Preserved in near perfect dust-jacket. Held in a blue morocco drop-back box, with an onlay depicting Hal on the front board and a ‘galaxy’ of white gold tooling swirling across the front and back covers of the box. £1,905.00 |
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MODERN LITERATURE - George Orwell's Prophetic Masterpiece
| 17. Orwell, George; Nineteen Eighty-Four Secker and Warburg, London, 1949 Crown Octavo (130x185mm) First Edition It has been suggested that Orwell was really writing about the year 1948, transposing the last two digits as an ironic comment on the ever growing power of the State in the aftermath of the Second World War. If Orwell thought the State was too powerful in 1948, what would he make of it now? The Binding Bound in dark green morocco goatskin, with onlays in dark grey of silhouetted figures marching in single file with their heads lowered. Behind them, the monolithic architecture of the 'State' is suggested by vertical dotted lines of gold tooling.
Housed in a leather-entry slip-case. |
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MODERN LITERATURE - Virginia Woolf's Most Experimental Novel
| 18. Woolf, Virginia; The Waves The Hogarth Press, London, 1931 Crown Octavo (130x182mm) First Edition Virginia Woolf’s most experimental novel, it consists of soliloquies spoken by six characters. She herself described it as six facets of conciousness. The Binding Bound in dark blue morocco goatskin with a hand-tooled design of an ornamental wave pattern in gold leaf and blue leather onlays. Housed in a leather-entry slip-case. £1,900.00 |
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MODERN LITERATURE - Signed Copy of Eric William's Heroic Second World War Story
| 19. Williams, Eric; The Wooden Horse Collins, London, 1949 Crown Octavo (140x200mm) Signed on the title page by the author
First edition |
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| 22. de Brunhoff, Jean; Le Roi Babar Editions du Jardins des Modes, Paris, 1933, First Edition Imperial Quarto (268x372mm) The Binding Bound in bright yellow morocco with a block of the original cover on the front board created with coloured leather onlays. The book is held in a matching leather entry slipcase.
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| 22a. de Brunhoff, Jean; Les Vacances de Zephir Librairie Hachette, 1936 First Edition Imperial Quarto (268x372mm) The Binding
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| 22b. de Brunhoff, Jean; Babar en Famille Librairie Hachette, 1938 First Edition Imperial Quarto (268x372mm) The Binding Bound in maroon morocco with a block of the original cover on the front board created with coloured leather onlays. The book is held in a matching leather entry slipcase.
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| 22c. de Brunhoff, Laurent; Babar et Ce Coquin d'Arthur Editions du Jardins des Modes, Paris, 1946 First edition Imperial Quarto (268x372mm) Published after Jean de Brunhoff's death by his son Laurent .
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CHILDREN - First Editions Of All Seven Narnia Stories
| 24. Lewis, C.S.; The Chronicles of Narnia (7 Vols) All First Editions: The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair The Horse and His Boy The Magician’s Nephew The Last Battle Geoffrey Bles, 1950-1956 Demy Octavos (145x205mm) The Chronicles of Narnia are one of the true classics of children’s literature. First editions of any of the above books are rare; to have the opportunity to acquire all seven volumes bound uniformly in full leather is an even rarer opportunity. The Bindings Uniformly bound in black morocco goatskins with multi-coloured leather onlays. Housed in a leather-entry leather slipcase. £9,095.00 |
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CHILDREN - The One Hundred and One Dalmations
| 27. Smith, Dodie; The Hundred and One Dalmations Heinemann, London, 1956 Demy Octavo (146x216mm) First Edition Cruella de Vil (a play on the words ‘cruel’ and ‘devil’) is perhaps one of the most famous villains in children’s literature. It is said Dodie Smith’s inspiration for the story came when a neighbour suggested that her pet Dalmation would make a good fur coat. The Binding Bound in pink morocco goatskin, inlaid with black goatskin spots and finished in white gold. £2,320.00 |
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ILLUSTRATED AND PRIVATE PRESS - Golden Cockerel Press
| 28. [Golden Cockerel Press]; The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ Decorations by Eric Gill, Waltham St Lawrence, 1931 Number 454 of 500 copies, Royal Quarto (247x345mm) Originally bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe in the early 1930s, this copy of Gill's masterpiece has come back to S&S for refurbishment, which includes a new spine. The spine leather is white pigskin and it has been tooled using the original brass finishing tools made for the edition eighty years ago and still held in our bindery tool collection. Think of it as a Rolls Royce going in for a service! The Binding Bound in half white pigskin with brown buckram boards. The book is housed in a modern pigskin leather entry slipcase. £9,000.00 |
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ILLUSTRATED AND PRIVATE PRESS - Buckland Wright and The Halcyon Press
| 30. [Halcyon Press]; Keats, John; The Collected Sonnets; Illus. John Buckland Wright The Halcyon Press, Maastricht, 1930 Limited edition, of which this book is one of 35 copies printed on Imperial Japanese paper containing a double set of proofs of the eleven illustrations, on Japanese and Dutch paper. The book is signed by the artist and bound in leather by M. Louis Malcorps. Super Royal Octavo (250x180mm) The Binding Malcorps's binding is perfect in both execution and design; a wonderful example of a binding that is not only beautifully made, but works in harmony with the typography and illustrations. Housed in a new leather drop-back box by S&S. £4,800.00 |
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ILLUSTRATED - A Rare and Beautifully Illustrated Ornithological Gem
| 32. [Rathbone, Hannah Mary]; The Poetry of Birds ‘Selected from various authors with coloured illustrations by a Lady’ George Smith, Liverpool and Ackermann & Co., London, 1833 Twenty two hand-coloured illustrations Royal Octavo185x232mm Hannah Rathbone (1798-1878) was an extremely talented artist as shown here with these exquisite hand coloured illustrations. She was a friend of John Audubon who often stayed with the Rathbones at their home near Liverpool during the 1820s. Audubon acknowledged his debt to the family by calling what he mistakenly assumed to be a hitherto undescribed bird the ‘Rathbone Warbler’ (plate LXV in his Birds of America), actually an immature Yellow Warbler. The Binding Bound in full dark green morocco goatskin, with decorative gold tooling to the boards and spine depicting birds and feathers, with a ‘Bewick’ block in gold leaf on the front board. £ 2,750.00 |
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POETRY - Wilfred Owen and The Poetry of The Great War
| 38. Owen, Wilfred; Poems With an introduction by Siegfried Sassoon First Edition Square Octavo (175x216mm) The Binding |
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SETS - A Fine Set of the Complete Works of Jane Austen
| 3. Austen, Jane; The Novels and Letters of Jane Austen (12 Vols) Comprising: Sense
and Sensibility (2 Parts); Pride and Prejudice (2 Parts); |
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SETS - A Fine Nineteenth Century Set of Shakespeare by Zaehnsdorf
| 42. [Zaehnsdorf Binding]; Shakespeare, William; The Works (10 Vols) Bickers & Son, London, 1881 Octavos (150x290mm)
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SPORTS AND PASTIMES - FOOTBALL
| 45. Gibson, A.; Pickford, W.; Association Football (4 Vols) The Caxton Publishing Company, London, [1905] Super Royale Octavo (170x240mm)
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SPORTS AND PASTIMES - GOLF
| 46. Darwin, Bernard; The Golf Courses of the British Isles Profusely illustrated in colour by Harry Rountree Duckworth and Co., London, 1910
First edition
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CHAMPAGNE
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SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE - SPECIAL BINDINGS
| 48. Fitzgerald, Edward; RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM The title-page reads ‘Reproduced in colour from a manuscript written and illuminated by Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe. Taken from Fitzgerald’s text of 1859, Coloured illustrations by E.Geddes, the borders, initials and writing by Alberto Sangorski. The book consists of a Preface 1- 7, followed by a double-spread illuminated title page and first Quatrain, printed by stonelithography in full colour, followed by a further 74 Quatrains printed in red and black ink, and interspersed with 10 further coloured illustrations. Followed by Omar Khayyam the Astronomer Poet of Persia, 16pp, Notes 12pp, List of Illustrations 8pp.
The Binding |
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SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE - Alberto Sangorski's First Illuminated Manuscript
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49. The Binding |
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| 50. [Erotica] Collot - Leurs Reves Dix Vernis Mous en Couleurs Cet album a été tire a cent examplares dont dix sur japon aux dépens de la Societé des Amis d’Eros non mis dans le commerce. Landscape Album 282x242mm Pictorial title-page with 10 further hand-coloured plates depicting various erotic acts. Each plate has been mounted in a simple window mount and hinged at the spine so the book opens flat. The Binding Bound in full red morocco, with decorative gold tooling to the spine and boards, incorporating small heart shaped onlays in maroon goatskin with powdered silver flourishes. £4,200.00 |
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| Box-making | Self-publishing and Limited Editions | Design |
