Cloth binding for Birket Foster’s ‘Hood’s Poems’

Unsigned

1871

Cloth binding

11¼ x 10¼ inches

This anonymous design is probably the most impressive cover of any gift book of the seventies. Strikingly original, it combines an architectural feature with a rustic bower and flourishes of flowers and stems. [Commentary continues below.]

Scan and text by Simon Cooke [Click on image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]

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