Almost Certainly the Most Visually Impressive
Obtainable Cosway-Style Binding

(BINDINGS - COSWAY-STYLE). (VELLUM PRINTING). LONGFELLOW, HENRY WADSWORTH.

EVANGELINE.

(1903]). 318 x 238 mm (12 1/2 x 9 3/8"). 1 p.l. (title), [89] unnumbered leaves, printed on one side only. Probably ONE OF 26 COPIES.

NOTHING SHORT OF SPECTACULAR OLIVE BROWN COSWAY-STYLE MOROCCO BY RIVIERE & SON (stamp-signed on front turn-in) ADORNED WITH A TOTAL OF 14 VERY FINE OVAL MINIATURES PAINTED ON IVORY UNDER GLASS, ALMOST CERTAINLY BY MISS C. B. CURRIE, covers bordered by three plain and decorative gilt rules, upper cover with very large central gilt lozenge formed by flowers, volutes, acanthus leaves, and many small tools, the lozenge containing AT CENTER AN OVAL PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF LONGFELLOW (approximately 72 mm. tall), this SURROUNDED BY SIX OVAL MINIATURES OF SCENES FROM THE POEM (each approximately 58 mm. tall), and AN ADDITIONAL FOUR MINIATURES of the same size set in as cornerpieces, surrounded by gilt flourishes and small tools; lower cover with large triangular gilt centerpiece set with THREE ADDITIONAL MINIATURES, two of them views, the other a larger portrait of Evangeline in her nun's habit; raised bands, spines lavishly gilt in compartments filled with volutes, acanthus leaves, and small tools framing a central flower, gilt turn-ins, vellum endpapers, edges untrimmed. In a suede-lined maroon morocco fitted pull-off case. RICHLY ILLUMINATED THROUGHOUT BY JOHN H. TEARLE, with beautiful foliated initials in colors and burnished gold, most of them having leafy extensions, elaborate head- and tailpieces, and with a manuscript title page featuring a three-quarter border of acanthus leaves, flowers, and berries as well as WITH AN OVAL MINIATURE (approximately 70 mm. across) of a woodland scene (a second similar scene of a country churchyard appearing later in the text decoration). Front pastedown with armorial bookplates of Albert Henry Wiggin and Lynde Selden (see below). A typed key laid in at the front citing the lines of the poem that are depicted in the miniatures. The Magnificent Library of Phoebe A. D. Boyle, #179. Slight (inevitable) humpbacked bowing to boards, paint a bit flaked on title page (and with very minor flaking elsewhere), naturally occurring variations in the grain of the vellum, otherwise A MAGNIFICENT COPY, the colors rich, the gold luminous, and THE BINDING IN EXCEPTIONALLY FINE CONDITION.

This is the most elaborate and visually impressive Cosway-style binding we have ever seen, and it was both produced and owned by persons of distinction. The size of the volume allows for a remarkable number of miniatures, a fact that sets it apart from all but a handful of Cosway bindings, which are almost always considerably smaller. Just one of the 14 oval miniatures is the customary portrait of the author traditionally used in Cosway bindings, while all the other miniatures here depict scenes from Longfellow's Acadian epic, including: the young Evangeline tending her cows, three paintings showing the houses and cottages of the Acadians, two scenes of the beautiful wilderness of Canada, a dramatic scene of the village being burned, a priest leading the inhabitants of an Indian village in prayer, a happy family gathered around their grandfather, a dramatic confrontation with Redcoats, a city street with a night watchman, the cemetery where our heroine was laid to rest, and a full-length portrait of Evangeline in the habit of a Sister of Mercy. The paintings are very finely done, and the level of their aesthetic achievement strongly suggests that they are the work of Miss C. B. Currie. The ultimate authority on this subject, Stephen Ratcliffe, who knows the binding well, has testified in person that it is without a doubt Currie's work. The earliest Cosway bindings were executed by Currie, who is known to have worked for Sotheran for 30 years until her death in 1940. The binding work was invariably done, as here, by Riviere. The magnificently decorated vellum interior comprises an appropriate complement to the binding: the text is beautifully enhanced with the fanciful illuminations of John H. Tearle (b. 1868), well known for his work in paint and gold decoration in a vaguely Medieval style. (The conjectural time and place of the production of the text come from ABPC, which records four copies of an illuminated version of "Evangeline" done by Tearle, printed on vellum in New York by De Vinne in 1903, and issued in an edition of 26 copies.) Our copy was in the outstanding collection of fine bindings, vellum printings, and other private press books owned by Phoebe Boyle and sold at Anderson Galleries in 1923; according to that catalogue, this is a "unique copy." Any item from the Boyle collection, which was put together with great taste and discrimination, is universally recognized as desirable beyond its intrinsic merit. The book subsequently passed into the hands of New York financier Albert Henry Wiggin (1868-1951) and his son-in-law, American Express vice-chairman Lynde Selden. Wiggin began to collect bindings and fore-edge paintings in 1945, and soon amassed a collection surpassed only by that of Estelle Doheny. Our copy was offered by J. N. Bartfield at the 2007 San Francisco Book Fair for $95,000 and purchased at that time by the person who sold it to us. Prior to that, the book had not been in the marketplace for many years (ABPC listings since 1975 show no record of its being offered for sale). Given the size, the condition, the visually arresting appearance, the combination of painterly and decorative skills involved in its embellishment, and the distinguished provenance, there could hardly be any Cosway binding (or a great many bindings of any sort) of more interest than this one. (ST12088)