Fore-edge Painting

Edinburgh: Mundell, Doig and Stevenson, 1808. hardcover. fine. 4 volumes. Handsomely bound in contemporary straight grained green morocco with gilt designs on covers & spines, a.e.g. Housed in a red cloth folding box. Edinburgh: Printed for Mundell, Doig and Stevenson, 1808. A fine set.<br/> <br/> Each volume has a detailed fore-edge painting of various London city scenes.<br/> <br/>

London: Moxon, 1838. hardcover. near fine. Illustrated with numerous in-text engravings. 313 pages. 12mo, beautifully bound in contemporary gilt-decorated burgundy morocco, a.e.g. London: Edward Moxon, 1838. Near fine (both hinges repaired).<br/> <br/> With a magnificent double fore-edge painting depecting Boston & a view of the State House, and New York & a view of City Hall (4 paintings).<br/> <br/>

Oxford:: Printed at the Clarendon Press, by Samuel Collingwood, 1822., 1822. 8vo. 1039 pp. Paper lightly browned (causing edge painting to look browned). Original dark brown straight grained morocco elaborately stamped in blind, a.e.g.; neatly rebacked, edges scuffed, inner hinges re-enforced. Very good. Leather bookplate of Sydney Sanner. With fore-edge painting of "FOLKSTONE." An early painting (date unknown). PROVENANCE: Navy blue morocco bookplate of Sydney Sanner, possibly a freemason and, if so, this could be the copy of Judge James Sydney Sanner (1872-1956), Supreme Court of Montana. He was also involved with inventing mining machinery. He died in Los Angeles. Earlier inscription of "Emily C. Hammersley, [daughter of my] [and in another hand:] Great Aunt . . . Constance Maria Stopford, Ridgeway, 1920."

London:: Frederick Warne and co., (1880)., 1880. At head of title: The Lansdowne Poets. Small 8vo. 438 pp. Engraved illus. Original full green blind and gilt-stamped calf, spine gilt, maroon leather spine label, a.e.g. School prize award mounted on front pastedown (1882). With a fine fore-edge painting showing The Tower of London and Mint from Tower Hill (1842), after Thomas Shotter Boys (English engraver, 1803-1874). Painted circa 1970s by Don Noble [unsigned]. See: Weber, Jeff, Annotated Dictionary, pp. 214-6 [Noble fl. 1965-2000).

London:: Charles Griffin, 1867., 1867. 8vo. xxxviii, 682 pp. Index to subjects. Original full brown morocco stamped in darker brown, gilt corner devices, four raised bands, a.e.g.; light edge wear, corners showing, some scuffs to outer edges. Early ownership signature of Gerald Beach. With a fore-edge painting (estimated date of painting: 1985) showing two trappers in the woods (one holding a captured and killed ferret or similar creature). Painted by/for Harrington's, London, ca.1990s.

London:: Printed by T. Bensley, 1796-1797., 1796. Two volumes. 8vo. xl, [iv], 325; [iv], 366 pp. Engraved half-titles, 16 engraved plates, index. Twentieth century full navy blue straight-grained morocco, gilt rules, five raised bands with gilt compartments, a.e.g. for H. Sotheran & Co., London; a tad rubbed. Near fine. The TWO FORE-EDGE PAINTINGS by CLARE BOOKSBANK, signed. The scene on volume I is possibly a view of King George III and the House of Parliament; on volume II Westminster from the Thames River. The identity of Junius is open to question and debate, and may never be finally resolved unless documents are found which establish his identity. On the other hand scholars now generally support the identification with Sir Philip Francis. "The case for Philip Francis, first proposed by John Taylor in 1816, has established itself as by far the most probable, though categorical proof is still not forthcoming" (DNB). The Letters of Junius were the official letters that Junius collected, refined… Read More

London: W. Pickering, 1850. 5th or later Edition . Red Morocco. Near Fine. Fore-Edge Painting. 262 Pp. Full Pebbled Red Morocco, All Compartments Gilt, Five Bands, Covers Elaborately Gilt With Nine Borders In Gilt, Inner Blind-Stamped Rule With Corner Embellishment, Elaborately Gilt Edges And Elaborately Gilt Turns, All Edges Of Page Block Gilt, Yellow Endpapers, With Bound In Black Silk Marker. Title Page In Red And Black. 6 5/8" Tall. Remarkably Well Preserved, Slight Rubbing, No Names Or Marks. This Example With A Well-Preserved Fore Edge Painting Of Washington D. C. From Arlington Heights With Potomac River And Several Ships In Foreground, Painting Apparently Done Apparently Circa 1850-1853 As The Washington Monument Is Depicted As About 1/3 Completed.

Edinburgh:: William Oliphant and Co., [no date, but after 1834; ca.1855-60]., 1834. 12.7 cm. 380 pp. Engraved frontispiece. Original full brown blind-stamped morocco, raised bands, gilt title, all edges gilt. Near fine. Provenance: Inscribed: Emily Ward from her affectionate school-fellow Catherine Gray[?], April 30, 1863. With a fore-edge painting of Norwich Cathedral, painted by Don Noble, ca. 1978/86 (not signed). See: Weber, Jeff, Annotated Dictionary of Fore-edge Painting Artists & Binders, pp. 214-6.

London:: John Murray, 1818., 1818. 8vo. viii, 576 pp. Original full double gilt-ruled vellum, gilt embellished spine, olive-brown morocco spine label, all edges gilt, red endleaves. Fine copy. With a glorious fore-edge painting on the painted edge by the Dover painter, of "King's College Chapel Cambridge" and labeled in the artist's ink hand. The artist is known to have worked in the 1920s and 1930s in London, thus it is interesting to note that there are two notations with dates: a dated inscription in the back E.H.W. 25/3/31 [March 25, 1931] $ 85. - with a cost code showing B/-/- over B/H/E. Surely an indication that this was painted by March 1931 and offered for sale by an American bookseller for $ 85. The label (shown) for the painting also has a code: 116/1/24 which looks like a code/date - if a date then the year would be 1924. This is very much within this artist's time period of activity. [JWRB]

London: Edward Moxon, 1853. 5th or later Edition . Hardcover. Fine. Frontispiece. X, 388 Pp. Full Morocco, Elaborately Gilt Spine, Covers, And Turns; All Edges Gilt; Yellow Endpapers. 19Th Century Blindstamp Of John Mylrea, Bookseller, Douglas. Previous Owner's Inscription Dated 1854; Later Inscription Dated 1983. Fine (Leather Professionally Conditioned, Corners Touched Up, Furbished. Fore Edge Painting Of A Fencing Lesson In A Drawing Room.

Parigi:: Presso Baudry, 1836., 1836. 2 volumes in 1. Sm. 8vo. xxx, [2], 442, [2]; [iv], 288, [2] pp. Frontispiece portrait, 2 half-titles; light foxing. Original full green straight-grain gilt-stamped morocco, a.e.g.; rubbed Early ownership inscription, 1839. Bookplate with signature of Edward Thomas King. With a beautiful scene painted by Don Noble (unsigned) of Tivoli, Italy.

London:: Smith, Elder and Co., 1862., 1862. Half-title: The four Georges: sketches of manners, morals, court, and town life. Small 8vo. [iv], 226, [2] pp. Original full turquoise blue crushed morocco, raised bands, all edges gilt, by W. M. HOLLOWAY (ca.1850-70), London; head and rear joint mended with kozo, spine toned. Bookplates of Thomas Clarke Butler-Cole; Alfred C. Howell. Very good. First edition, contained within four parts. With a lovely fore-edge painting [ca. 1952] of a scene of Windsor Castle. PROVENANCE: Thomas Clarke Butler-Cole (1870-); Alfred C. Howell (1847-1928). See: Hover, Caroline F. Aucassin et Nicolette, the Alfred C. Howell collection: a bibliography. New York: Hover, 1977.

London:: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1833., 1833. Small 8vo. 264 pp. Engraved half-title, 19 engraved plates. Original full dark green blind- and gilt-stamped morocco, a.e.g.; neatly rebacked, preserving original endleaves; rubbed. Early ownership signature on title of [-] Baldwin; bookseller's label of G.A. Poynder, Reading. [From the collection of Phoebe Jane Easton]. Very good. WITH A FORE_EDGE PAINTING of an English countryside scene, showing two monuments [including a cathedral] by "Stevens", a painter who worked after WWII and was very prolific. Edited by Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838). Fore-edge painting PROVENANCE: Yale & Brown Booksellers, Pasadena, CA [with their dated invoice of September 15, 1962] – W.R. Moran, La Cañada (purchased 16 July 1962 with fore-edge painting named on the receipt) – gifted to William ["Bill"] & Phoebe Jane Easton in 1962. The important aspect of this provenance is that within it is a proof that this book was painted on before July… Read More

London:: Edward Moxon, 1842., 1842. 8vo. vii, 320 pp. Numerous engraved illus.; lacking frontispiece portrait. Original full maroon blind- and gilt-stamped morocco, raised bands, gilt compartments, all edges gilt. Bookplate of Oscar Ehrhardt Lancaster (fore-edge painting collector). With a fore-edge painting of "Sadler's Wells Theater", London, ca.1813, after Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (1792-1864); engraved by J. Garner, 1830. This is a "modern" painting (20th century).

London:: Printed for T. Cadell; and E. Moxon, 1834., 1834. 8vo. vii, 284 pp. Engravings throughout. Bound ca. 1890/1905 in full olive brown crushed morocco, gilt corner decorations, dentelles, a.e.g., marbled endleaves. Bookplates of Alfred Trapnell and Oscar Ehrhardt Lancaster (both owned fore-edge paintings). Very good. With a vertical fore-edge painting of a large urn or vase with a plant. The painting is not signed or dated. PROVENANCE: Alfred Trapnell bookplate, his library sold in NY ca. 1910 ["998" label]. The fore-edge was painted before Trapnell bought the book, as there was another ROGERS in the Phoebe Jane Easton collection that was a clear companion to this volume, also with Trapnell's bookplate. Alfred Trapnell was a famous collector of porcelains. [kmw]