This lovely antique edition of Shirley by Charlotte Bronte was published by J M Dent and Sons Ltd. The book itself is undated but there is a presentation plate inside dated 1910. So the book is from the very late Edwardian era. It is quarter bound in leather, with red cloth boards and gold gilt decoration to the spine and two raised bands. I think it may have been a custom school prize binding as I've never seen this binding on an Everyman Library book before.
This book is in good condition for it's age but there are signs of wear. The corners are lightly worn, and the boards show some minor marks and scuffs. The spine shows the most wear - The leather is faded and chipped, with some loss to the surface of the leather in places. There is also some loss to the leather at the spine ends. The gold gilt decoration on the spine has quite an art deco feel to it.
Inside, there is a presentation plate glued to the front pastedown and the pages show some light marking and discolouration. There is some creasing to the pages in places.
The title page is particularly striking and features beautiful art nouveau decoration.
Dimensions approximately 17.5cm x 11.5cm x 2.1cm.
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 bubbled 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).