This beautiful and very scarce edition of Flowers Their Use and Beauty, Language and Sentiment by Arthur Freeling was published by Darton and Co. The book itself is undated but after some research, I'd estimate it to be from the earlier part of the Victorian era (circa 1857).
The book is bound in orange cloth with beautiful blind stamped decoration in gilt and black to the boards and spine. The text block edges are gilt. It's in remarkably good condition for it's age but there is light wear to the corners and the boards show light soiling. There is minor rubbing and loss to the black decoration. The spine is faded and discoloured, and there is crushing to the spine ends.
Inside, there is age toning to the pages with occasional marks and foxing. There is an illuminated illustration for a frontispiece which appears to have been glued in, and a collection of hand coloured plates. There are superficial cracks to the gutter in places but the pages remain tightly bound.
Dimensions approximately 16.8cm x 11cm x 1.8cm.
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