Cloth Publisher's Bindings
This libguide includes titles and permanent links to catalog records books housed in Special Collections & Archives that exemplify Victorian and early 20th-century cloth publisher's bindings. The book covers in our collection fit into a genre of book cover design done on cloth which was made to look like leather by embossing leather grain patterns into the cloth. The first of these types of covers were invented during the Industrial Revolution, circa 1830s. Over time, the covers become quite ornate and decorative. Our books in this genre don't date to the 1830s; nonetheless, we have some nice examples!
1840s
- Zoology of New York byCall Number: HATCH 32/1/4-5Publication Date: 1842-44Cover embossed “Warner and Boyton Binders, Albany”
- The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope byCall Number: ASL 811.3 P81 v.1-4Publication Date: 1849
1850s
- The Poems of Samuel Rogers: With a Memoir byCall Number: BOOK ARTS 5-1895.0Publication Date: 1853?Maroon diagonal fine rib grain binding cloth over beveled paper boards, blocked in black and gold on front and spine; gilt edges; text outlined by decorative red borders.
- Handy Andy: A Tale of Irish Life byCall Number: ASL 823.8 L945Publication Date: Between 1854 and 1918Bound in red dotted line grain cloth; front cover with gilt-stamped titling within abstract box, box and ornamentation outlined in black; spine with gilt-stamped titling and ornamentation, ornamentation outlined in black; top edges gilt.
1860s
- The Marble Faun, or, The Romance of Monte Beni byCall Number: ASL 813.3 H318 v. 1-2Publication Date: 1860
- Seven Years' Residence in the Great Deserts of North America byCall Number: BOOK COLL 13 no. 220 v. 1-2Publication Date: 1860
- The Capital of the Tycoon: A Narrative of a Three Years' Residence in Japan byCall Number: ASL 915.204 AL18 v. 1-2Publication Date: 1863Bound in brown honeycomb grain cloth; front cover with ruled borders and center blind-stamped lion like image; back cover with blind-stamped ruled borders; spine with gilt-stamped titling and blind-stamped ruled compartment with design
- From the Atlantic Surf to the Golden Gate: First Trip on the Great Pacific Railroad: Two Days and Nights Among the Mormons, with Scenes and Incidents byCall Number: BOOK COLL 13 no. 290; COLL V PAM 96Publication Date: 1869
1870s
- Lilja (The Lily) an Icelandic Religious Poem of the Fourteenth Century byCall Number: ASL 839.6 Ey76Publication Date: 1870Bound in blue sand grain cloth; front cover with black-stamped ruled borders, fleuron corner piece and decoration, and border for off-center medallion with gilt-stamped border and lily, gilt-stamped titling; rear cover without decoration; spine with gilt-stamped decoration and titling; dark brown endpapers; all edges gilt.
- Roughing It byCall Number: COLL V BOOK 341Publication Date: 1872Bound in half "Morocco" ; marbled endpapers.
- Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Single and Married byCall Number: ASL 814.3 H719Publication Date: 1874Bound in fine rib rust cloth over beveled boards; front and rear covers with black and gilt-stamped art deco designs; spine with same black and gilt-stamped designs as front cover and gilt-stamped titling; dark turquoise clay coated endpapers; all edges gilt. Each page has black ruled border around text.
- Gleanings from the English Poets: Chaucer to Tennyson, with Biographical Notices of the Authors byCall Number: ASL 821.08 In4glPublication Date: 1878?
1880s
- The Legacy of Cain byCall Number: ASL 823.8 C697Publication Date: 18--Publishers cloth binding, calico pattern ochre-colored, stamped in black with double borders, dots and dentil. Motifs on top cover design include a winged book, torch, foliage, and ribbon, with "I liber at que doce"; spine is stamped in gold and black with title, edition, and similar motifs.
- The Complete Home: An Encyclopaedia of Domestic Life and Affairs byCall Number: ASL 640 W933Publication Date: 1881Original mustard-colored Victorian embossed cloth binding. Front cover stamped in black and gold with title, stylized ginkgo and honeysuckle branches. Back cover blind-stamped with same design. Two sample spine-bindings pasted on inside front cover (ornate mustard-yellow vs. plain blue binding). Plates include a decorated gift page, a lithographic frontispiece, and color chomolithograph plates complete with tissue guards.
- Poems and Ballads; A Century of Roundels and Other Poems byCall Number: ASL 821.8 Sw63Publication Date: 1887?Bound in blue rib-grained cloth; front cover with black-stamped ruled and decorative clover leaf and flower borders, panels of flowers and foliage and central panels with gilt-stamped backgrounds and black-stamped outline of clover and flower and author's last name; rear cover without decoration; spine with black and gilt-stamped decoration and titling; buff endpapers with gray printed floral pattern; all edges gilt.
- The Toilers of the Sea byCall Number: ASL 843.7 H874trPublication Date: 1888Bound in dark blue cloth; front cover with green and gilt-stamped coral and fish design in the shape of a classic shield with titling in the center; spine with gilt-stamped titling and green with gilt-stamped outlined shells; top edges gilt.
1890s
- Sesame and Lilies byCall Number: ASL 824 R897Publication Date: 189-?Green cloth binding: fine rib grain pattern embossed on background of front cover, stamped in gold with title, series, and a floral art nouveau/deco design; title stamped in gold on spine.
- Letters from the East byCall Number: ASL 910.4 K628Publication Date: 189-?Bound in blue linen texture cloth; front cover with blue-stamped poppy flower and seed pod design with titling; spine with two compartments containing blue-stamped poppy and seed pod design with author's name between and gilt-stamped titling.
- The Crown of Wild Olive: Four Lectures on Work, Traffic, War, and the Future of England byCall Number: ASL 824.8 R897Publication Date: 189-?Publisher's binding in tan linen patterned cloth; front cover with 3 black and red-stamped stylized flower stems and medallion with black-stamped titling; rear cover without decoration; spine with black and red-stamped stylized flower stem and decorative compartment borders, with gilt-stamped titling.
- Lalla Rookh: An Oriental Romance byCall Number: ASL 821.7 M824LPublication Date: 1892?Quarter bound in green fine rib grain cloth over very thin wood veneer over boards; front and rear veneer is relief printed with oak branch and leaves in light and dark green and title in dark green, design is initialed with artist's chop; spine with gilt-stamped titling.
- Adventures of Captain Bonneville byCall Number: 917.8 ir8 1898 v.1-2Publication Date: 1895Cloth binding and page borders signed by the designer: M.A. [i.e. Margaret Armstrong].
- Rachel byCall Number: ASL 792.0924 R114-KPublication Date: 1895Bound in mustard yellow cloth; front cover with black-stamped ruled and ornamental borders and spandrels and series title, also gilt-stamped title; rear cover same as front but lacks titling; spine with black-stamped ruled and ornamental bands and wording and gilt-stamped titling; floral endpapers.
- Sister Jane: Her Friends and Acquaintances byCall Number: ASL 813.4 H242sPublication Date: 1896Bound in green pictorial cloth stamped in black and gilt.
- The Poetical Works of James Thomson byCall Number: ASL 821.5 T384Publication Date: Between 1800-1899?Bound in red cloth; front cover with black-stamped ruled and clover leaf and flower ornamental borders around two panels, top panel has black and gilt-stamped ornamentation and the authors last name, lower panel has black-stamped floral surround around center gilt panel with black-stamped clover leaf and flower; spine with black and gilt-stamped clover leaf and flower and ornamental bands and decoration, center black and gilt-stamped medallion containing clover leaf; buff colored endpapers printed with olive color vine and leaf pattern; all edges gilt.
1900s
- One of Cleopatra's Nights: and Other Fantastical Romances byCall Number: BOOK COLL 10 LL-2Publication Date: 1900
- The Vision of Sir Launfal byCall Number: ASL 811.3 L951vi & c.2Publication Date: 1900?C. 1 has gold-leaf ornamental border on t.p. and illustration pasted down on front cover with gilt-stamped border and titling; c. 2 is bound in brown paper, front cover with embossed ornamentation and gilt-stamped titling.
- Morien: A Metrical RomanceCall Number: ASL 809.888 AR78 No. 4; c.2Publication Date: 1901Bound in brown cloth; front cover with rectangular stamped vignette of a king on a horse with dog in blue, green, gold, and black with black-stamped titling in upper right corner of vignette; spine with black-stamped titling; top edges gilt.
- Familiar Studies of Men and Books byCall Number: ASL 823.8 St48f v. 1-2Publication Date: 1907Vol. 1 has been rebound in a library binding. Vol. 2 bound in fine rib grain maroon cloth; front cover with gilt-stamped leaf and vine surround around titling, initialed TBH; uncut pages; top edge gilt. Frontispiece is aquatint photogravure portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson.
- My Lady Nicotine byCall Number: ASL 823.91 B276Publication Date: 1900-1999?Bound in green calico pattern cloth; front cover with gilt-stamped titling and bamboo motif with green and red stamped vine and berry images; rear cover with green and red stamped vine and berry images; spine with gilt-stamped titling and green and red stamped vine and berry images.
- Amos Judd byCall Number: ASL 813.4 M694Publication Date: 1901Bound in dark red cloth; front cover with gilt-stamped floral ornamentation and titling, with initials AR; spine with gilt-stamped floral bands, decoration, and titling; pages uncut; top edge gilt.
- Francesca da Rimini byCall Number: ASL 853.91 An7frPublication Date: 1902Bound with cloth spine and paper covered front and rear covers; front cover has green-stamped ruled and decorative borders, center decoration and statement of responsibility with rust-stamped titling and portion of center decoration; spine with green-stamped titling.
- With the Immortals byCall Number: ASL 813.4 C857Publication Date: 1903Bound in green rib grain cloth; front cover with blind-stamped ruled border and gilt-stamped panel with curvlinear motifs and titling; rear cover with blind-stamped ruled border only; spine with gilt-stamped titling and decoration; top edges gilt.
- The Tar-Baby: and Other Rhymes of Uncle Remus byCall Number: ASL 813.4 H242tPublication Date: 1904Initialed, lower right corner on front cover in design.
- The Van Dyke Book: Selected from The Writings of Henry Van Dyke byCall Number: ASL 828.5 V288Publication Date: 1905Arts, Science, and Letters Collection.
Bound in calico textured pale olive cloth; front cover with dark olive stamped ruled border and clover leaf ornamental border with rust colored stamped clover blossom pattern intertwined with the dark olive ornamentation around rust colored stamped titling, initialed MA [Margaret Armstrong] in corner; spine with dark olive stamped clover decoration and rust colored stamped titling; buff endpapers with taupe ink over clover flower design. - Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ byCall Number: ASL 813.4 W155Publication Date: 1905Bound in light blue cloth; front cover with purple-stamped diamond-shaped medallion containing white and purple berries and square with white and purple border containing gilt-stamped titling; spine with blind-stamped hexagon containing white specks and gilt-stamped titling.
- The Cynic's Word Book byCall Number: ASL 813.4 B477cPublication Date: 1906Bound in olive cloth; stamped in black and red; top edge gilt.
