This beautiful antique edition of The Fern Garden How to Make, Keep and Enjoy It by Shirley Hibberd was published by Groombridge and Sons in 1869. So the book is from the mid Victorian era.
The book is bound in green cloth with stunning gilt decoration to the front board and spine. It's a very attractive binding and in good condition. There is some light marking and soiling to the boards, with some air bubbling to the cloth covering the boards. The corners are worn and crushed, whilst the spine is darkened. Crushing to the spine ends has caused minor splitting in the cloth.
Inside, there is cracking to the hinges and the front free endpaper is a little loose. There is also a faint written inscription on the FFEP. The frontispiece is partially stuck to the title page which means it doesn't open all the way and the frontispiece just folds over - this has caused a split to the bottom. The pages show light age toning and sporadic foxing, and there are occasional cracks to the gutter.
The book features illustrations throughout - both in the form of colour plates and as black and white line drawings within the text.
Dimensions approximately 18.7cm x 13cm x 2cm.
The book will arrive hand wrapped in patterned wallpaper and string.
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 oxo-degradable and the clear bubble wrap is 100% recyclable. I also reuse boxes when I feel it's appropriate (if the boxes are sturdy enough).