Sangorski, F., and Sutcliffe, G.--Keats, John.

with 55 sonnets in a fine calligraphic hand, illuminated title page with a miniature portrait of Keats and a fine gilt and hand coloured foliate design with the text in red ink, including two full page hand coloured illustrations (one of Leander drowned, the other of five mermaids), 16 pages having elaborate gilt and hand coloured decorative borders with foliate designs, four of these incorporating miniature illustrations (of a mountain landscape, grasshopper and crickets, the Elgin Marbles, and a sleeping woman), each sonnet with engrossed initial capital in coloured inks and occasionally gilt, paginated, in red and black ink, with a colophon ("This copy of The Sonnets by John Keats was written-out, illuminated, and bound by F. Sangorski and G. Sutcliffe of London for Cannon and Cassidy of New York. Registered design No. 593024"), 39 pages, folio, in black morocco elaborately gilt and onlaid, encrusted with 208 jewels, both covers with triple borders with gilt fillet rolls, two infilled with dark orange morocco the third with gilt pointillé tooling, the upper cover having cornerpieces with an elaborate fan design, gilt tooled art nouveau geometric patterns with cross-hatching, green, purple, orange, and blue morocco onlays and solid gilt background inset with 16 turquoises, around a large central oval sunken compartment with thick gilt floral sprays and pointillé design on green morocco inset with 118 garnets, and a centrepiece with a fan design of purple and green morocco on a solid gilt background and the monogram "JK" in raised blue and orange morocco onlays, the lower cover with gilt cornerpieces with sprays of foliage and red morocco onlays, elaborate abstract art nouveau geometrical designs incorporating green, purple, orange, and blue morocco onlays, foliate rolls, thickly gilt, with a round central sunken compartment with further onlays and gilt sprays, inset with 74 stones around a green and purple fan design, doublures with gilt fillet rolls and floral tools, purple and orange onlays, a large central compartment of cream morocco with further gilt tooling and onlays in blue and green, and a centrepeice of green morocco, gilt sprays and dots, and flowers with red morocco onlays, silk endpapers, gilt edging, in a bespoke box, front endpapers imperfect, occasional thumb-prints and other marks, box scuffed and worn 

Phoebe Boyle, her bookplate

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

a magnificent calligraphic manuscript and jewelled binding. Keats was one of the poets most favoured for these lavish productions by Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe; a somewhat similar example can, for example, be found among the treasures of the Wormsley Library. This manuscript belonged to Phoebe Boyle, the great New York collector of jewelled bindings.