The Vicar of Wakefield
- London: Macmillan & Co, 1922
London: Macmillan & Co, 1922. Fine. A rather unusual Riviere binding from the Art-Deco period, with their gilt stamp on the front lower dentelle. Bound in contemporary full dark brown calf. Front cover with the title and a pastoral scene inlaid in colored leather. Spine with a single raised band, lettered in gilt and with an inlaid candle design, rear cover inlaid with a bowl of soup and a pipe. All edges gilt, marbled end-papers. Small octavo (181 x 118 mm.). Collating xxxviii, 305, complete. Illustrated throughout by Hugh Thomson in his charming, distinctive style. A Fine copy overall, still protected in the original, cloth-lined bindery box.
Reportedly published as a means for thwarting debt, The Vicar of Wakefield became one of the most popular novels of the late 18th century. Mixing irony with sentimentalism, it paints a portrait of village life "narrated by Dr. Primrose, the title character, whose family endured multiple trials -- including the loss of their fortune, the seduction of a daughter, the destruction of their home by fire, and the vicar's incarceration -- before all is put right at the end" (Britannica). Goldsmith was a noted Irish wit and a member of Samuel Johnson’s famed literary club, who Johnson praised as: “In genius, vivid, versatile, sublime. In style, clear, elevated, elegant." The legend of the book’s publication is that Goldsmith was about to be arrested by his landlady for debt, when Johnson was able to sell the manuscript of the novel to a publisher for sixty pounds, saving his friend in the nick of time. For this illustrated edition, Rackham embraced historical costume and his traditional whimsy, despite the more fashionable Jazz-Age and Art Deco style predominant at the time (Husdon).
“The Riviere Bindery was one of the most notable and prolific shops in London's West End from about 1840 through 1939” (Princeton). Bath-based Bayntun Bindery acquired the firm in 1939, transforming into the “Bayntun-Riviere bindery,” which is still in existence and family owned. Fine.
Reportedly published as a means for thwarting debt, The Vicar of Wakefield became one of the most popular novels of the late 18th century. Mixing irony with sentimentalism, it paints a portrait of village life "narrated by Dr. Primrose, the title character, whose family endured multiple trials -- including the loss of their fortune, the seduction of a daughter, the destruction of their home by fire, and the vicar's incarceration -- before all is put right at the end" (Britannica). Goldsmith was a noted Irish wit and a member of Samuel Johnson’s famed literary club, who Johnson praised as: “In genius, vivid, versatile, sublime. In style, clear, elevated, elegant." The legend of the book’s publication is that Goldsmith was about to be arrested by his landlady for debt, when Johnson was able to sell the manuscript of the novel to a publisher for sixty pounds, saving his friend in the nick of time. For this illustrated edition, Rackham embraced historical costume and his traditional whimsy, despite the more fashionable Jazz-Age and Art Deco style predominant at the time (Husdon).
“The Riviere Bindery was one of the most notable and prolific shops in London's West End from about 1840 through 1939” (Princeton). Bath-based Bayntun Bindery acquired the firm in 1939, transforming into the “Bayntun-Riviere bindery,” which is still in existence and family owned. Fine.