Spenserian Poetry--Almost as Beautiful as the Creative and Meticulous Riviere(?) Binding

EPITHALAMION AND AMORETTI.

(BINDINGS - BUMPUS/RIVIERE). SPENSER, EDMUND.

(London: John & E. Bumpus, 1903). 211 x 140 mm. (8 1/2 x 5 1/2"). 86 pp.

LOVELY GREEN MOROCCO, GILT AND INLAID, FOR J. & E. BUMPUS (stamped in gilt on rear turn-in), LIKELY BY RIVIERE & SON, upper cover with gilt fillet frame, central panel with densely blind-stamped leafy vines on a gilt pointillé background accented with onlaid red morocco dots, large oval at center and four smaller ovals, all framed by gilt beads, the central oval adorned with four gilt and onlaid red and white morocco Tudor roses, 10 more such roses at corners and along the sides of outer frame, lower cover with gilt fillet frame, raised bands, spine compartments with blind-stamped leafy sprig on pointillé ground, with onlaid black, ivory, and red morocco dots, gilt lettering, turn-ins with gilt border, gilt trio of leaves at corners, all edges gilt. With engraved frontispiece portrait, title page vignette, two headpieces, and two tailpieces. Upper cover and spine evenly faded to olive green (likely from being displayed), just a hint of bowing to boards, but A VERY FINE COPY, the text entirely clean, fresh, and bright, and the binding unworn.

This lovely printing of Spenserian poetry comes in an unusual and skillfully executed binding, likely by Riviere & Son, which was producing some of its very best work at the time of publication. The poems here were inspired by Spenser's courtship of, and 1594 marriage to, his second wife, Elizabeth Boyle. Day calls "Amoretti" "a unique sonnet sequence in Renaissance England," and he is unreserved in his praise for "Epithalamion," calling it "the most beautiful nuptial poem in English, and perhaps in any language." Spenser (1552? - 99) was the first modern English poet to achieve major stature, and Day points out that those "influenced by Spenser are virtually a roster of the great English poets since his time," among them Milton, Wordsworth, Keats, Rossetti, and Tennyson. Bumpus bindings were done for the bookselling firm of John and Edward Bumpus, founded in 1780. The firm long enjoyed a reputation as purveyors of fine and beautiful bindings without ever operating a bindery. Instead, they outsourced the work to the best binders of the day, including Riviere and Morrell (the former being a likely choice here). The combination of swirling blind-stamped vines, a densely stippled background, and onlaid blossoms demonstrates creativity in design, proficiency in a range of finishing techniques, and meticulous execution. The five blank ovals on the upper cover bring to mind the layout of Cosway bindings, a specialty of the Riviere firm, in which those ovals would be filled with miniature paintings on ivory under glass. Cosway bindings could sometimes be ornate to the point of being overwhelming, so the blank ovals here are a welcome moment of restraint amid the animation of the cover design. Apparently, an earlier owner enjoyed displaying this binding--as who would not?--and the leather has mellowed to an olive green--which may actually be a more pleasing foundation for the decoration than the original brighter green. Certainly, the book saw no other use, as the contents are as fresh as the day the volume left the printer. (ST20957)

Price: $5,500.00