ROSSETTI, CHRISTINA | Two First Editions

The Property of a Gentleman

ROSSETTI, CHRISTINA

Two First Editions

Goblin Market & Other Poems. London: Macmillan & Co., 1862.  8vo (4 1/8 x 6 5/8 in.; 106 x 168 mm). Frontispiece and title-page illustrations by Dante Gabriel Rossetti; a few tray spots to preliminary leaves. Original dark blue cloth, covers and spine with decorative rules and circle motif in gilt and blind also by D.G. Rossetti, brown coated endpapers; minor wear to head of spine, cracks to endpapers at joints. First edition, one of 750 copies printed. — The Prince’s Progress & Other Poems. London: Macmillan & Co., 1866. 8vo (4 1/8 x 6 5/8 in.; 108 x 170 mm). Half-title, frontispiece and title-page illustrated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti; a few stray spots. Original green cloth bound by Burn & Co., covers and spine with gilt motif also by Rossetti, brown coated endpapers. Chocolate coated end papers; minor shelfwear along bottom edge, contemporary ownership inscription to front free endpaper. First edition

Group lots not subject to return.

Together a fine pair of first editions

Dante Gabriel Rossetti had a distaste for the sometimes-gaudy aesthetic or ornamentation of Victorian books. In response to this, he designed his own bindings, which often demonstrated a combination of minimalist motifs and contemporary techniques. Here, the design of The Prince’s Progress & Other Poems in particular makes reference to clasps and nailheads on medieval books. Alongside the wood-engraved frontispieces and title-pages, the bindings play an important role not only in the overall art of the book, but its medieval allusion also reflect the themes of the narratives at hand, creating an organic symbiosis between the text and the physical object itself.