This beautiful volume of The Butler, His Duties and How to Perform Them was published by Houlston and Sons as part of their Industrial Library. The book is undated but it was reissued by Houlston and Sons in 1877 - the first edition in the 1840's was published by Charles Knight & Co. The book details the ultimate Victorian domestic role. As the highest-paid servant, the traditional butler functioned as the household's chief steward, linking the master with the staff and managing the dining room
The book is bound in brown cloth with decoration in black and gilt to the front and lettering in black to the spine. It's in near fine condition, with light wear to the corners and foxing to the text block edges. There is crushing to the spine ends and minor marking to the cloth. There is a small ink stain to the top edge of the text block.
Inside, the pages are clean and bright with sporadic foxing and handling marks. Some of the top corners have been dog eared by a previous reader, leaving creasing behind. There are occasional cracks to the gutter but the pages remain tightly bound. There is a small stain to the top of the front pastedown.
Dimensions approximately 16.8cm x 11cm x 1.3cm.
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 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).