MILTON, John "The Poetical Works of John Milton" [Frederick Warne, 1897]

MILTON, John. The Poetical Works of John Milton.

London and New York: Frederick Warne and Co., 1897. “Albion Edition.” Octavo. [608] pp. Frontispiece portrait of Milton. All edges gilt. Contemporary vellucent binding by Cedric Chivers of Bath, signed on the rear inside board (“Cedric Chivers Bath”). Full dark green leather under vellum, with a central circular wreath design in gold and color on the upper board enclosing the title “Milton,” incorporating small mother-of-pearl inlays; gilt rules to boards; spine lettered in gilt with repeated Art Nouveau floral devices; gilt turn-ins and marbled endleaves. Binding shows rubbing at corners and edges, with noticeable fading to the spine leather, now brownish in tone. Gilt remains largely intact and decorative elements are clear and well defined. Inner hinges sound. Text block clean, with expected toning; no loose pages noted. Very Good.

The text is Warne’s “Albion Edition” of Milton’s poetry, issued with an introductory memoir, notes, and bibliography, and illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the poet. Cedric Chivers developed and patented the vellucent binding technique in the late 1890s, combining painted or gilt decoration beneath translucent vellum, often enhanced with mother-of-pearl and gilt tooling. This volume represents a characteristic example of Chivers’s work from the period when the technique was first being introduced and marketed.