This rare edition of Twelve Parables of Our Lord was published by Macmillan and Co in 1870. So the book is from the mid Victorian era.
It's a large book, bound in original brown cloth with bevelled boards and gold gilt text block edges. The front board has ornate gold gilt decoration and a small circular pictorial pastedown of Christ in the centre. The spine features gold gilt lettering.
It's in good condition for it's age, but the boards do show some marking and small areas of loss to the colour of the cloth. The corners are worn and crushed, with fraying to the bottom corners. The board edges are bumped and there is something small stuck to the back board. There is rubbing to the spine edges and the spine ends are crushed, which has caused splitting and minor loss to the cloth.
Inside, there are no inscriptions but there is a rubbed out pencil name on the reverse of the title page. The pages show varying degrees of age toning and there is foxing around the edges of the pages. There are occasional marks but the pages are remarkably clean and bright. There is very slight cracking to the hinges but the pages are tightly bound.
There is a chromolithograph title page plus 12 stiff card leaves showing 12 chromolithographs with borders taken from the Brevario Grimani from St Mark's Library, Venice. The illuminated texts and title pages are designed by Lewis Hind. The twelve illustrations to the parables are from sketches taken in the East by H R McEniry.
Dimensions approximately 31.5cm x 25.5cm x 1.5cm.
The book will arrive hand wrapped in patterned wallpaper and ribbon.
I use a range of eco friendly, 100% recyclable jiffy bags and boxes, and whenever possible I use brown paper tape. The green bubble wrap is biodegradable and the clear bubble wrap is 100% recyclable. I also reuse boxes when I feel it's appropriate (if the boxes are sturdy enough).