Sacred and Legendary Art by Anna Jameson, 2 Volumes, 1905, Prize Bindings

Binding Details:  Fine full leather prize binding with burl flame leather boards framed with gilt decorations, raised bands on the spine with six compartments, gilt embossed title and embellishments, marbled endpapers, gilt dentelles, and gilted page ends. The front board of each book has a gold gild prize stamping.

Book Details: A wonderful edition of Mrs. Jameson’s critically acclaimed work on sacred art. The book features 19 full page steel plate etchings protected by tissue guards and 187 in-text woodcut illustrations. The text contains legends of the angels and archangels, the evangelists, the apostles, the doctors of the church, and St. Mary Magdalene as represented in the fine arts. This third edition was published to correct several errors contained in the first and second editions and contains an explanation by the author of the changes, an appendix, and a list of the illustrations.

Each book measures 8.25” x 6”, 818 combined pages.

Condition Report:  The bindings are in Very Good+ condition with a slight bowing of the boards, minor rubs to the head of the spine of volume 2 and the heel of the spine to volume 1, and generalized surface wear to the boards with a rub to the front board of volume 1. Internally, the books are generally clean with some foxing to the tissue guards. The prize inscription in written and dated in ink on the first free endpaper of Volume 1. Overall, this is a very attractive prize binding of Mrs. Jameson’s most famous work.

Several photographs of the book, the prize inscription, and illustrations from the book appear in the photo section of the listing.