Cedric Chivers Binding (4 results)

Full Morocco. Condition: Very Good. Two volumes. ix, 332; vii, 325 pp. Frontis portrait to both volumes. 22 full-page portraits to first volume and 25 to the second, with numerous double sided plates showing various sports teams. Deluxe bindings by Cedric Chivers of Bath. Full morocco with painted vellum roundals and gilt lettering to boards and spines; top edges gilt. Scratching to bindings, with the odd dent or minor chip to the leather. Spine of second volume a little faded. Internally quite clean. A great compendium of sport at Cambridge and Oxford detailing the period from the codification of many sports until the end of the Edwardian era. This is a heavy set and may require additional postage if being shipped outside of Europe. 4to.

Condition: Fine. Second edition. Two volumes bound in one, small octavo (6 15/16 x 4 1/16 inches; 177 x 103 mm.). xxii, 294, [1, imprint], [1, blank];, xii, 254, [1, imprint], [1, blank] pp. Two engraved frontispieces and one hundred and sixty-two black & white illustrations, including decorative head and tailpieces, all by Charles E. Brock. Bound ca. 1906 in a fine pastel "vellucent" binding by Cedric Chivers (stamp-signed in gilt on rear lower turn-in), with a delicately hand-painted 'Art Nouveau' floral design. This binding is No. LXXXV on page 34 of the Cedric Chivers catalog "Books in Beautiful Bindings." The front cover with three red flowers and a green vine design enclosing the title "The Essays And The Last Essays of Elia. Charles Lamb". Lower cover with a similar design but with just one red flower. Smooth spine similarly decorated and lettered in watercolor and gilt, gilt ruled turn-ins, mottled pale-green liners and end-papers, all edges gilt. Neat ink inscription dated "Xmas 1906" on front blank. A very fine example housed in the original fleece-lined, green cloth slipcase (missing the movable spine panel). Patented in 1898, Chivers's "vellucent" bindings departed from traditional methods of creating hand-painted vellum bindings. The usual approach was to merely bind a book in vellum and then paint on a design, but this is prone to rubbing and flaking and such examples are often now found chipped and deteriorated. In the 18th century Chivers's great predecessor, Edwards of Halifax, painted in reverse on the underside of translucent vellum, thereby providing a layer of protection for the design. His technique was not widely copied and almost vanished with his death, and it was not until the 1890s that Chivers developed his own similar method for protecting the design underneath the vellum itself - the backing sheet of the vellum was painted, which was then covered in vellum which had been shaved to transparency. The vellum was then tooled in gilt, on occasion incorporating additional mother-of-pearl and onlays. The books which Chivers thus bound have always been a favorite of collectors, and usually still present well, the vellum having served its purpose of protecting the design for many decades, as Chivers intended. Chivers was also known to have employed a great many craftswomen at his bindery in Portway: "forty women for folding, sewing, mending, and collating work, and in addition, five more women worked in a separate department, to design, illuminate, and colour vellum for book decoration, and to work on embossed leather. These five were Dorothy Carleton Smyth, Alice Shepherd, Miss J.D. Dunn, Muriel Taylor, and Agatha Gales" (Tidcombe). This book brings together Charles Lamb's Essays of Elia (first published in 1823) with the subsequent volume Last Essays of Elia (issues in 1833). The accessible and conversational essays were published under the pseudonym Elia, inspired by an Italian man that Lamb had known at the South Sea House, and had appeared serially in The London Magazine between 1820 and 1825. Despite his struggles with mental illness, Charles Lamb (1775-1834) would be celebrated for his literary contributions, producing a range of material from essays to poems. Lamb belonged to an active literary circle which included Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. Fine.

Condition: Near Fine. Fifth edition. Two volumes bound in one, small octavo (180 x 105 mm.). xxii, 294, [1, imprint], [1, blank];, xii, 254, [1, imprint], [1, blank] pp. Two engraved frontispieces and one hundred and sixty-two black & white illustrations, including decorative head and tailpieces, all by Charles E. Brock. Bound ca. 1905 by Cedric Chivers (stamp-signed in gilt on rear lower turn-in). Bound in handsome green morocco with decorative gilt floral patterns on the front board encircling a "vellucent" title label. Spine with gilt titles and art nouveau floral pattern. All edges gilt, pale green end papers. Spine toned, previous owner's gift inscription on the first blank, otherwise a fine copy overall. Patented in 1898, Chivers's "vellucent" bindings departed from traditional methods of creating hand-painted vellum bindings. The usual approach was to merely bind a book in vellum and then paint on a design, but this is prone to rubbing and flaking and such examples are often now found chipped and deteriorated. In the 18th century Chivers's great predecessor, Edwards of Halifax, painted in reverse on the underside of translucent vellum, thereby providing a layer of protection for the design. His technique was not widely copied and almost vanished with his death, and it was not until the 1890s that Chivers developed his own similar method for protecting the design underneath the vellum itself - the backing sheet of the vellum was painted, which was then covered in vellum which had been shaved to transparency. The vellum was then tooled in gilt, on occasion incorporating additional mother-of-pearl and onlays. The books which Chivers thus bound have always been a favorite of collectors, and usually still present well, the vellum having served its purpose of protecting the design for many decades, as Chivers intended. Chivers was also known to have employed a great many craftswomen at his bindery in Portway: "forty women for folding, sewing, mending, and collating work, and in addition, five more women worked in a separate department, to design, illuminate, and colour vellum for book decoration, and to work on embossed leather. These five were Dorothy Carleton Smyth, Alice Shepherd, Miss J.D. Dunn, Muriel Taylor, and Agatha Gales" (Tidcombe). This book brings together Charles Lamb's Essays of Elia (first published in 1823) with the subsequent volume Last Essays of Elia (issues in 1833). The accessible and conversational essays were published under the pseudonym Elia, inspired by an Italian man that Lamb had known at the South Sea House, and had appeared serially in The London Magazine between 1820 and 1825. Despite his struggles with mental illness, Charles Lamb (1775-1834) would be celebrated for his literary contributions, producing a range of material from essays to poems. Lamb belonged to an active literary circle which included Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. Near Fine.

First thus. Two volumes bound in one. Each volume one of just 30 copies printed on Japanese Vellum (both number 25), signed by the illustrator, Edmund Sullivan. Bound for Brentanos by the famous English bookbinder, Cedric Chivers, in full red morocco with his signature vellucent painted illustration to the font panel. Spine with inlaid morocco details. Spine very subtly toned, otherwise a fine copy overall. A lovely example of book arts for both this handsome printing, as well as the expertly crafted binding. Complete with 2 frontispieces and 18 plates by Edmund Sullivan. A collection of Washington Irving's short stories, including his most famous and beloved tales, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (narrated by the fictional Dutch historian Diedrich Knickerbocker). "The Sketch Book was a celebrated event in American literary history. The collection was the first American work of short stories to gain international success and popularity" and while "most of the book's 30 off pieces concern Irving's impressions of England, six chapters deal with American subjects." (Britannica) Patented in 1898, Chivers's "vellucent" bindings departed from traditional methods of creating hand-painted vellum bindings. In the 18th century Chivers's great predecessor, Edwards of Halifax, painted in reverse on the underside of translucent vellum, thereby providing a layer of protection for the design. His technique almost vanished with his death, and it was not until the 1890s that Chivers developed his own similar method for protecting the design underneath the vellum itself - the backing sheet of the vellum was painted, which was then covered in vellum which had been shaved to transparency, the vellum was then tooled in gilt. The books which Chivers thus bound have always been a favorite of collectors, and usually still present well, the vellum having served its purpose of protecting the design for many decades, as Chivers intended.