Poetry Fine Bindings

I started collecting bound volumes of English poets primarily because of their bindings. often I could acquire a book bound by Rivière or Bayntun reasonably cheaply just because it was a volume of poetry.  The first volume I bought, though, was of poetry that I truly enjoyed and reread. I read some of the poems again when I was in hospital this summer for several months. This was 'A Shropshire Lad' by A. E. Housman, in a beautiful edition printed in 1953 with wood engravings to illustrate the text. The cover is a simple faded blue Morocco, but when you open the cover there are beautiful endpapers and some effective gold tooling, and all three edges are gilded. The binding is marked as having been executed by Baynton (Rivière) of Bath. Bayntun incorporated the Rivière bindery in 1939.

Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad' bound by Bayntun (Rivière of Bath

The title page.

The 1934 reprint of Lamb's 'Essays of Elia' in a well-worn simple binding by Bayntun (Rivière). It is half bound in red calf with marbled paper and gilded top edge.

I also have a copy of Lamb's 'Last Essays of Elia' in a matching 1906 edition in a delightful binding in fine condition but no indication of the binder. The top edge is gilded in both volumes. It is half bound in brown calf and brown cloth.

The volume of Thomas Hood's complete poetical works also dates from 1906. The three edges are marbled in pale blue to match the endpapers. This is bound in full speckled calf with a heavily decorated spine. The Scottish poet Thomas Hood was born in 1759 and died in 1845, but I admit I have not read a single poem by him.

The copy of the 'Life of Sir Philip Sidney' was printed at the Clarendon press in 1907, and beautifully bound in green calf by Henry Sotheran Ltd. Again the top edge is gilded, and the end papers are beautiful, with richly tooled edging.

The 'Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson' was printed in 1901 and has a Rivière binding in blue Morocco, gilded on all three edges and with beautiful endpapers with rich gold tooling.

'Keats's Poetical Works' was printed in 1895, and is half bound in blue calf and blue cloth, with a gilded top edge.

The 'Poems of Robert Browning' are in an edition of 1904, with a full tree calf binding with very attractive tooling to the spine and similarly attractive marbled blue endpapers with gold tooled edging.

'Shelley's Poetical Works are in an edition of 1927 in blue calf, raised bands and attractive tooling. The endpapers have a marvellous blue marbled paper with gold tooling to the edge. This too is a Rivière binding.

The 'Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy' are half bound in dark red calf and cloth, with raised bands to the spine and a simple but attractive decoration. There is a coat of arms on the front cover. The endpapers are unremarkable but the top edge is gilded. This too is a Rivière binding.

'Cowper's Poetical Works' is an edition of 1857 with a simple half binding in black Morocco and marbled paper, with raised bands with tails and a simple but effective decoration to the spine.

Finally, 'Byron's Works' of 1867 is much more workaday, though the green calf half binding is attractive, let down by the apparently poor quality of the green mottled paper. There are no ornamental endpapers or internal gold tooling: the decoration is mostly confined to the spine. There is no gilding to the edges.

Although not a volume of poetry, I do like my 1902 edition of 'The Manor Farm' by M. E. Francis, in an attractive half binding of fine-grained brown Morocco and beige cloth. The spine is simply and attractively tooled. The endpapers are also simple and attractive, and carry the bookplate of Albert Harrison.