This beautiful but worn edition of The Marvels of Nature in Earth, Sea and Sky was published by Ward, Lock and Co Ltd. The book is undated but there is a presentation plate inside dated 1896. So the book is from the late Victorian era.
The book is bound in red cloth with stunning blind stamped decoration in black and gilt to the front board and spine. All edges are gilt, but some of the page segments are loose and stick out from the edge of the text block. There is wear to the corners, with minor splitting and fraying to the cloth. There is a small hole in the cloth to the edge of the front board and minor marks to the back board. There is a split in the cloth at the bottom of the back hinge; the spine is faded.
Inside, there is a presentation plate glued to the front pastedown and a small tear to the bottom of the FFEP. The pages show toning throughout and as mentioned above, the text block is very shaky with some loose page segments. The book is filled with beautiful illustrations.
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 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).