THE LIFE AND WORKS

London: Macmillan and Co, 1898-99. One of 1,050 copies of the Edition de Luxe. 235 x 158 mm. (9 1/4 x 6 1/4"). 12 volumes..
SUPERB LIGHT GREEN ART NOUVEAU "VELLUCENT" BINDING BY CEDRIC CHIVERS OF BATH (stamp-signed on rear turn-in), covers framed by delicately tooled gilt and by painted vines, center panel of upper cover of each volume with different stylized flowers--roses, daisies, lilies, tulips, and others--painted in pastel tones accented with gilt circlets and with a quote from Tennyson lettered in gilt, smooth spines similarly framed and with a single stalk of the featured flower beneath the painted name of the poet and the volume number, turn-ins ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers, TOP EDGES GILT AND DELICATELY GAUFFERED, other edges untrimmed (hinges reinforced). In the original (slightly worn) felt-lined green cloth slipcases. With 12 plates (four featuring the poet's homes, the rest portraits of him), all with tissue guards. With three facsimiles of the author's writing. Wise, Collected Editions 18. One volume with half-inch crack to head of front joint, the text with isolated trivial spots of foxing, but AN OUTSTANDING SET--clean, fresh, and bright internally, and THE LOVELY BINDINGS REMARKABLY WELL PRESERVED.

With the graceful flowers on its dozen spines creating a broad and splendid garden on the shelf, this is a particularly lovely example of Chivers' "vellucent" bindings. Cedric Chivers (1853-1929) established binding premises in his native Bath after an inspiring visit to the Paris Exhibition of 1878. A short time later, after hearing a lecture by Cyril Davenport on the 18th century painted vellum bindings of Edwards of Halifax, he began producing his own work in this tradition, creating what he called the "vellucent" binding. The innovative part of these bindings, as seen here, was accomplished by rendering vellum transparent, then placing it over painted pieces of paper, thereby protecting the surface of the paper from soiling and abrasion. Prideaux says that the process achieves the effect of enriched enamel, and that is certainly the case here. The binding designs in the present set are directly tied to the contents: the flowers that bedeck the covers and spines are paired with quotes from the Poet Laureate's works, often lines mentioning the bloom on display. To keep this garden in good repair, Chivers provided slipcases, specially constructed with a little "window" on the back that allows the reader to push the volume gently out of the case, forestalling wear and tear to the spine ends. The slipcases also function to prevent the splaying that so commonly afflicts vellum bindings. These precautions, combined with careful and infrequent use, have kept the bindings in a state very close to their original condition. The text here is Macmillan's deluxe edition of Tennyson's works, with the first four volumes containing the definitive memoir by his son, Hallam, and the remaining eight books covering the father's poetry. Handsomely printed on fine paper, this set, in publisher's cloth, sold at time of publication for a princely six guineas (and volumes could not be purchased separately). It was entirely worthy of the splurge on these thoughtful and appropriate bindings. We have had a substantial number of vellucent bindings over the years, many of them distinctive and striking, but this is the most powerful and beautiful example we've ever offered for sale..