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britannica - americana
50
DODGSON CHARLES LUTWIDGE
[LEWIS CARROLL]
(1832-1898).
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland…
Sixteenth Thousand.
London: Macmillan & Co., 1869
Avec :
Through the Looking Glass and
What Alice Found There... Thirteenth
Thousand.
London: Macmillan & Co., 1872
4 000 / 5 000 €
In-8, deux volumes, respectivement Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland
: [XII] + 192 pp.; 42
illustrations, bois gravés de John TENNIEL;
Through the Looking Glass
: 224 pp.; 50
illustrations, bois gravés de John TENNIEL.
Reliures uniformes de maroquin citron,
de style “Cosway” par « Rivière & Son »,
dos à 5 nerfs, titres dorés, décor dans les
entre-nerfs de disques de cuir incisé rouge
avec filets dorés formant rayons, reliures
signées sur les revers et sur les doublures,
doublures de soie bleue, filets dorés sur
les coupes, tranches dorées, plats ornés
de « miniatures » aquarellées par C.B.
Currie (mention « Miniatures C.B. Currie »
estampée à l’or sur les doublures infériures),
médaillons sertis dans des compositions
à motifs de rayons de cuir incisé rouge et
de filets dorés : “The March Hare” et “The
Mad Hatter dipping the Dormouse into the
Teapot”, d’après les illustrations de Tenniel,
peintes sur ivoire et incrustées sur les plats ;
ces reliures numéros 805 and 806 de
l’inventaire des Cosway bindings selon la
liste de J.H. Stonehouse et C.B. Currie. Etui
de veau couleur citron, doublé de papier
marbré (Fort bel état ; manque de soie aux
doublures par endroits ; usures à la soie).
Dimensions: 190 x 133 mm.
provenance
1. Albert Henry Wiggen (1868-1951), président
de la Chase National Bank; son ex-libris
armorié au verso de la première garde. – 2.
Lynde Selden (1892-1972), vice-président de
la American Express Company, gendre de
Albert Henry Wiggen, son ex-libris armorié au
recto de la seconde garde; ex-libris circulaire
avec la phrase danoise : « Ik Mak Sikker »
(manque du second ex-libris circulaire dans
le second volume).
DODGSON CHARLES LUTWIDGE
[LEWIS CARROLL]
(1832-1898).
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland…
Sixteenth Thousand.
London: Macmillan & Co., 1869.
With:
Through the Looking Glass and What
Alice Found There... Thirteenth
Thousand.
London: Macmillan & Co., 1872
4 000 / 5 000 €
In-8, respectively
Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland
: [XII] + 192 pp.; 42 wood-engraved
text illustrations by John TENNIEL;
Through
the Looking Glass
: 224 pp.; 50 wood-engraved
text illustrations by John TENNIEL.
Uniformly bound in citron crushed morocco,
spine sewn on 5 raised bands, gilt lettering,
inlaid leather red discs with gilt rays in
compartments, single-fillet border, each
miniature surrounded by a single-fillet and
starburst made from inlaid red morocco
with linear gilt rays, dark blue watered-silk
doublures and endleaves, gilt-ruled turn-ins,
edges gilt, by RIVIERE & SON (signed in
gilt on upper turn-in; stamp-signed in gilt
on upper silk doublure), stamp-signed in
gilt on lower doublures «Miniatures by C.B.
Currie,» numbers 805 and 806 of the Cosway
bindings according to a printed sheet signed
by J.H. Stonehouse and C.B. Currie bound
in, in a citron calf slipcase lined in marbled
paper (Fine condition; silk doublures worn
and some tears). Dimensions: 190 x 133 mm.
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking
Glass in “Cosway Bindings” with two oval fine
miniature watercolors by Miss C. B. Currie:
“The March Hare” and “The Mad Hatter
dipping the Dormouse into the Teapot”, after
Tenniel’s illustrations, painted on ivory by C.
B. Currie, one set in each cover.
In the first decade of the twentieth century, the
London bookselling firm of Henry Sotheran
& Co., introduced a type of binding that was
decorative, had historic associations, and
catered to the level of quality expected by
connoisseurs at the time. Between 1902 and
1903, John Harrison Stonehouse (1864-1937),
managing director of Sotheran’s, created
what came to be referred to as «Cosway
bindings». These were named after the
celebrated eighteenth-century English
portrait miniaturist Richard Cosway (1742-
1821). Cosway bindings are distinguished by
their attractive, finely painted miniatures on
ivory that are protected by glass and inset
into the covers or doublures of elegantly
tooled books. Stonehouse’s success with the
bindings was due in part to his employment
of skilled miniaturist, Miss C. B. Currie.
provenance
1. Albert Henry Wiggen (1868-1951), president
and chairman of Chase National Bank; his
heraldic bookplate pasted on verso of first
flyleaf. – 2. Lynde Selden (1892-1972), Vice
Chairman of the American Express Company,
son-in-law of Albert Henry Wiggen, his
heraldic bookplate and a round ex-libris
overlapping the more traditional bookplate
with the Danish phrase: «Ik Mak Sikker» (second
round ex-libris wanting in the second volume).