Description

Hardcover bound in dark brown (nearly black) heavily embossed leather decorated with fine gilt decorations on both covers and spine. All edges gilt. Marbled end-papers. 384 pages. Contains an Index of Subjects; Index of First Lines; and an Index of Authors (with brief biographical information for each entry). First edition. A compilation of nearly 350 poems from the 15th to the later 19th century penned chiefly by British authors, though containing a handful of American poets. No author given but compiler was John Dunn (1819-1902). Titles for latter two indexes transposed due to printer error. No previous ownership marks. Light foxing to first several leaves including title and dedication page but overall text block is clean with only very mild, sporadic foxing. Two leaves show small stains from old pressed flower. Leather covers rubbed, as per usual, at extremities, especially outer joints and raised spine hubs. Overall a clean, tight copy with strong hinges and clean, legible text. A nice example of later nineteenth-century trade book-binding. Good or better.