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Hard cover, small (2 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches) Catholic devotional literature in English and Latin. Finely bound in full black crushed morocco, with a rolled gilt rule to board edges, sets of four shilling marks to head and foot of spine, all edges gilt, with a British royal crest gilt to rear board. Undated, but as early as 1903 (from hallmark). Presentation inscription in old pen to verso ffep., partially illegible, and with the date 1902 in pencil below. Inner dentelles are rolled in gilt, with vibrant patterned endpapers. Rear page colophon: Printed by Desclèe, Lefebvre & Co., Publishers to The Holy See, Tournay, Belgium. Most remarkable, however, is the repoussé sterling silver art nouveau plaque applied to the front cover, measurinng 2 1/4 x 4 inches. Hallmarks on the plaque denotes maker "C&S" Birmingham, 1903. CONDITION Near Fine. There are a few marks to the silver plaque small wear at head and foot of joints. It has been preserved with Renaissance wax. **The design consists of eight unopened buds high above a pair of symmetrically-opposed carnation flowers, the plants being held together at the base by a scrolled banner which could be mistaken for another leaf of the plant. The curvature of the long pointed foliage and lower stems are in naturalistic opposition to the strong upright lines of the buds in this striking art nouveau design. It is possible this was designed to allow a recipient's name engraved in the blank space. In any case, it is a striking design, and one wonders if the unknown artist was a student of the Birmingham Municipal School of Art, Britiain's first municipal art institution. Numerous silversmiths and other metalworkers were employed in Birmingham during this period of the flowering British Arts and Crafts movement, with the creation of small household ornamented objects such as needlecases, compacts, ashtrays, matchboxes and the like in as much demand as traditional jewelry. A glance at some of the William Morris designed wallpapers of the period, seen for instance in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, show a common Morrisian use of the carnation; this item would be right at home in a William Morris-designed interior. The history of silver-adorned book cases goes back to medieval Europe as status symbols of the well-to-do, in times when the production of manuscript codexes was painstakingly labor-intensive and therefore expensive. In more modern times, books with so-called "treasure" bindings, which might have included jeweled cabochons in addition to valuable metals, were carried into the twentieth century by British practictioners such as Sangorski and Sutcliffe (cf. "The Great Omar," et al.) **The contents of the book are a standard selection of Saints Calendar, Prayers for different occassions, devotions for Mass and the like, and may have been a First Communion gift. REFS: Silvermakers Marks dot org., and Hunt Vintage dot com.
Ref: BAAC 9359
$325.00