Poems of Shelley
- London: Macmillan, 1926
London: Macmillan, 1926. Golden Treasury series. Fine. A Fine copy. Sixteenmo (5 13/16 x 3 7/8 inches; 148 x 97 mm.). lxvi, [2], 340 pp. Title-page with vignette of Field Place - Shelley's birth place. Neat early ink presentation (dated 1927) on front blank. Beautifully bound ca. 1926 by Ramage of London (stamp-signed in gilt on lower turn-in). Full green crushed levant morocco, covers paneled in gilt surrounding a very intricate design in gilt, spine with five raised bands, decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt in compartments, gilt board-edges, wide decorative gilt turn-ins, cream watered silk liners and end-leaves, all edges gilt. A superb example of a later Ramage binding.
This elegantly bound book celebrates the talents of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), one of the most significant Romantic poets in the English language. Husband to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, and friend of Lord Byron, Shelley moved in a radical literary circle and died a tragic early death. From sonnet to epics, he is celebrated for his moving philosophical verse, such as famous poems Queen Maub, Ozymandias, Mont Blanc, Ode to the West Wind, or Prometheus Unbound.
The London-based bindery, John Ramage and Company helped “restore the fine hand-craft of bookbinding, in an era when that process was increasingly mechanized” (Morgan Library). John Ramage (1836–1911) apprenticed with both English and French binders before buying his first binder business in Edinburgh 1860. He opened a London bindery three years later (Gertz). “Though the range of their designs is broad, Ramage bindings are celebrated for their remarkably delicate, careful, and elaborate gilt work” (Gertz). Fine.
This elegantly bound book celebrates the talents of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), one of the most significant Romantic poets in the English language. Husband to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, and friend of Lord Byron, Shelley moved in a radical literary circle and died a tragic early death. From sonnet to epics, he is celebrated for his moving philosophical verse, such as famous poems Queen Maub, Ozymandias, Mont Blanc, Ode to the West Wind, or Prometheus Unbound.
The London-based bindery, John Ramage and Company helped “restore the fine hand-craft of bookbinding, in an era when that process was increasingly mechanized” (Morgan Library). John Ramage (1836–1911) apprenticed with both English and French binders before buying his first binder business in Edinburgh 1860. He opened a London bindery three years later (Gertz). “Though the range of their designs is broad, Ramage bindings are celebrated for their remarkably delicate, careful, and elaborate gilt work” (Gertz). Fine.