This lovely little pocket edition of The Emblems and Poetry of Flowers was published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in 1864. So the book is from the earlier part of the Victorian era.
It's bound in purple cloth (an unusual colour for books this age as the colour purple was expensive to produce) with gold gilt detail to the front board and spine. It's in good condition but there is significant sunning and discolouration to the spine and boards. The corners are worn and lightly crushed, and there is bumping to the board edges. The spine is faintly marked and crushing to the spine ends has caused minor splitting in the cloth.
Inside, there is a small newspaper clipping and a written inscription opposite the half title page. There is also a crack to the gutter at the half title page but the pages remain tightly bound. The binding thread can be seen at the gutter throughout the book and the pages are age toned and lightly foxed. There is just one illustration - the black and white frontispiece and the pages have an illuminated gold border.
Dimensions approximately 13.5cm x 9cm 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 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).