John Addington Symonds

A finely bound edition of John Addington Symonds' Wine, Women, and Song.

• John Addington Symonds (English).
• London: Chatto and Windus, 1884.
• Limited to 50 large paper numbered copies this being copy #36.
• Cosway binding with two very fine miniature paintings by Miss Currie.
• Bound in crushed red morocco, the covers paneled with in gilt pointelle and intersecting pairs of gilt fillets filled with an overall pattern of grape-cluster and grape-leaf tools, the front cover inset with a rectangular miniature painting after “Bacchus” by Guido Reni, the rear cover with a rectangular miniature painting of the “The Fruit Picker” after Maratta, the spine gilt in six compartments with matching grape-cluster and grape-leaf tools, gilt dentelles with matching pointelle, green silk moire doublures and endpapers, foot of front dentelle gilt-stamped "Bound by Riviere & Son from Designs by J. H. Stonehouse," foot of rear dentelle gilt-stamped "Miniatures C. B. Currie," top edge gilt, others uncut, housed in a full olive green morocco solinder slipcase.

The "Currie" refers to Miss C.B. Currie (Caroline Billin Curry, 1849-1940), a British book illuminator known for her miniature portraits on book covers and fore-edge paintings. She worked for the bookshop Henry Sotheran & Co. and is famous for her work with the binder Riviere & Son.