This beautiful full leather edition of The Seasons and The Castle of Indolence by James Thomson was published by Tilt and Bogue in 1853. So the book is from the early Victorian era.
The book is bound in full leather with blind stamped gold gilt decoration to the boards and spine. The page edges are also gold gilt and there are five raised bands to the spine. It's a lovely example of a fine leather binding.
It's in good condition for it's age but there is wear and crushing to the corners with some loss to the surface of the leather. The board edges are rubbed and there is scuffing and shallow scratching to the boards. There are also some small marks to the leather. The spine is faded, with rubbing and wear to the leather which has caused some minor loss to the surface. The leather is fraying at the head of the spine.
Inside, the pages show age toning throughout and some sporadic marking. There is a written inscription on the reverse of the frontispiece. There is staining to the top corner of the last quarter of the book.
There are 48 illustrations drawn and engraved by Samuel Williams.
Dimensions approximately 20.5cm x 14cm x 3cm.
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).