THE SCARLET LETTER. A ROMANCE. LITERALLY REPRINTED FROM THE FIRST EDITION

New York: Privately Printed, 1904. UNIQUE EDITION, ONE OF 125 COPIES on Japan Imperial paper (and one on vellum). 265 x 180 mm. (10 1/2 x 7"). 6 p.l., 333 pp.
SUPERB CONTEMPORARY BLACK CRUSHED MOROCCO, INLAID AND GILT, BY BRADSTREET'S, FINISHED BY ALFRED WILLIAM LAUNDER (stamp-signed in gilt: Bradstreet's on front doublure, A. Launder on rear doublure), covers with inlaid Art Nouveau-style frame in taupe and ivory crushed morocco, the former semé with gilt dots, central panel of upper cover with large initial "A" formed by inlaid scarlet morocco acanthus leaves, that of lower cover with the final line of the book "ON A FIELD SABLE THE LETTER A GULES" tooled in gilt majuscules, the bold, flourished "A" inlaid in scarlet morocco; raised bands, spine compartments similarly framed, one compartment with inlaid scarlet morocco "A" tooled with gilt circlets, gilt titling, SPLENDID RED MOROCCO DOUBLURES bordered by inlaid ivory morocco swag-and-trefoil frame, central panel semé with rows of tiny floral sprigs, inlaid ivory morocco oval centerpiece with collar of inlaid ivory morocco lace, leather hinges, ivory watered silk endleaves, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Original printed paper wrapper bound in. Housed in the original dark brown morocco pull-off case lined with maroon calf. With 15 color plates by A. Robaudi and C. Graham, each in a second black & white state, all with original tissue guards. A Large Paper Copy. Front flyleaf with morocco bookplate of Henry William Poor. Catalogue of the Library of Henry W. Poor . . . sold . . . 1908. New York: [Douglas Taylor & Co.] (1908), Lot 614 (this copy). ◆AN IMMACULATE COPY.

This is a memorable volume comprising a luxurious illustrated edition of a great American classic in a binding by a leading American artisan, and from an outstanding private library. Alfred William Launder was born in England and trained in his craft by his father. He then worked in the Mansell bindery before emigrating to New York in the late 19th century, where he first worked at the firm his brother operated with fellow emigré James MacDonald. Finding the pressures of a busy commercial firm less congenial than a small hand bindery, he accepted a job as finisher at Bradstreet's, which bound rare books and manuscripts for collectors including J. Pierpont Morgan and Henry W. Poor. In 1929, Launder became the first bookbinder to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he rebound and restored rare volumes in the museum's Thomas J. Watson Library. An article on the Met's website by Museum Librarian Mindell Dubansky pays tribute to Launder as "one of the finest binders in New York" and someone who had "achieved the highest level in his trade. As a finisher, he was exclusively responsible for the design and decoration of bindings [at the Museum], including the decorative leather onlays, inlays, and gold tooling." For this volume, he designed inlays as flamboyant as the "A" Hawthorne's defiant heroine Hester Prynne embroidered on her bodices. And the condition here manifests the belief expressed in the binding manual Launder created for the Met: "A well-bound book mocks at Time." Former owner Henry William Poor (1844-1915) was a financier and publisher whose firm was a forerunner of Standard and Poor's. He was a patron of the arts as well as a bibliophile whose collection was noted for its holdings in illuminated manuscripts, early printing, fine bindings, private press books, and American imprints. Unfortunate investments led to Poor's financial ruin, causing his impressive library to be sold at auction in 1908-09. His sales at Anderson Galleries brought in more than $200,000, a record at the time for an American collection. This volume was lot 164, praised in the sale catalogue, with the resounding emphasis engendered by majuscules, as "AN EXCEEDINGLY HANDSOME COPY.".