The Vicar of Wakefield. with Twenty-five Colored Illustrations by C.E. Brock
London: J.M. Dent, 1904. Colored frontispiece and title-page and twenty-three colored plates. Edges lightly foxed. A near fine copy. In a full velucent binding by Cedric Chivers of Bath. Spine and front cover gilt-tooled in architectural design. Front cover features classical columns, with decoration at top and bottom, including flower ornaments and an urn with fruit, back cover gilt paneled. The front cover and spine are richly colored in shades of pink, purple, green, and yellow. Top edge gilt, pink patterned endpapers. Octavo. [xviii], 242, [2] pp. Item #16663
Cedric Chivers (1853-1920) developed the technique of "vellucent binding," whereby an artist would paint on a thin surface, and a sheet of vellum, shaved to translucent thinness, was laid over it, with the result bound over boards. The significant achievement is that "for the first time in the history of the bibliopegistic art the actual work of the artist, undiluted by a translation through the hands of mechanics, is here visible in the decoration of the book" (Chivers catalogue, Books in Beautiful Bindings).
Price: $3,000.00