- Bookseller: Lux Mentis, Booksellers
- Seller Inventory #: 5300
- Format: Hardcover
- Binding: Hardcover
- Publisher: Personal Journal
- Date published: 1890s
Book Description
Personal Journal, 1890s. Hardcover. Light shelf/edge wear, touch of toning at text block edges, one or two tipped in items removed, "Tommy Tompkins" photo plate at front paste down, else tight and unmarred. Halfbound, black leather spine and tips, gilt decorative elements at spine, marbled boards. Small 8vo. np. Tipped in clipping, handwritten and typewritten sheets. Alfred Carter Needham was a well known Cape Ann, MA area artist and Yale graduate. Needham was a member of the Copley Society; Rockport Art Assoc.; Gloucester North Shore A.A. He exhibited at the PAFA. Born in 1872, this journal appears to cover his college years (+/-), the first date in early 1890 and the last in 1896. While there are some interesting clipping tipped in, what sets it appart is that it is rich in original prose and wit, much of it revolving around the Harvard and Yale rivalry...it also includes a fair bit of amorous notes and musings. Marked "Strictly Private" at the ffep, it is an exceptional example of a reasonably early personal journal made all the more significant as it is in the hand of a relatively well known New England artist.
Not sure what some of these terms mean? Look it up in our glossary.
boards : Common term for the covers of a hardbound book.
Marbled boards : A hardcover book with a decorative, multi-colored paper on the outside covering.
spine : The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf. Also known as the back.
tight : Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
gilt : The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book. The edges of the text block, or an inlay in the front cover of the boards, for example.
8vo : Short for Octavo, A book whose page size is approximately 8-10 inches tall. The size is based on a sheet of paper 25 inches by 38 inches, the size of paper traditionally used by book printers, which has been folded and cut into 16 pages..
Unfortunately often misunderstood to mean 8 volumes.
ffep : Front free endpaper. Generally, the first page of a book.
plate : Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e., they are not sewn as parts of gatherings.
tipped in : used to describe something which has been glued into a book, for example a bookplate.
Fair : is a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. (which must be noted). Binding, jacket (if any), etc., may also be worn. All defects must be noted. (defined by AB Bookman's Weekly)
A.N. : When used to describe the condition of a book refers to As New, "the book is in the same immaculate condition in which it was published. There can be no defects, no missing pages, no library stamps, etc., and the dust jacket (if it was issued with one) must be perfect without any tears," as defined by AB Bookman's Weekly
