book-aesthete

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"May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books." -Thomas Carlyle

Welcome to my virtual book collection. Since collecting actual books is somewhat cost-prohibitive, I've begun to amass all of the books I would love to have if I had the means. Some are new, lots are old, all are unique or beautiful or unusual or in some other way have captured my fancy. Enjoy browsing!

Special Collections: Fine Bindings ~ Fairies and Fairy Tales ~ Terror and Madness ~ Poetry ~ Food, Drink and Apothecary ~ Science Fiction ~ Illuminations, Lettering and Hand-Coloring ~ Magic ~ Supernatural and Occult ~ Alchemy ~ Science and Technical ~ Maritime ~ Costumes ~ Humor ~ Children's books ~ Legend of King Arthur ~ Americana ~ 18th Century ~ 19th Century

Authors and illustrators: Edgar Allan Poe ~ Jules Verne ~ Edmund Dulac ~ Kay Nielsen ~ Arthur Rackham ~ Edward Gorey ~ Charles Dickens ~ H.P. Lovecraft ~ William Hope Hodgson ~ Mark Twain ~ Lewis Carroll ~ Salvador Dali ~ George Cruikshank ~ Emily Dickinson ~ Geoffrey Chaucer ~ H.G. Wells

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Irish Melodies
Thomas Moore. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1846.

Additional title and decorative borders throughout by Daniel Maclise. Apart from letterpress title, preface leaf, and end matter, entirely engraved throughout. 4to, original bevelled cream boards printed in green and gold with shamrock border enclosing center roundel showing woman playing harp (front cover) and publisher’s monogram (rear cover),

First Maclise edition, in the original boards, “one of the finest covers of the early Victorian period, probably designed by Owen Jones”—McLean (1983), page 30. Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England 29 (“a landmark … in the history of style”).