[Giles, Gertrude- Guild of Women Binders] Le Temple de Gnide

Rouen: Chez. J. Lenmonnyer, 1881. Thick quarto, 10 3/4 x 7 1/4 nches. 152pp, plus table of contents at end. Beautifully bound by Gertrude Giles, a Guild of Women Binder member, with her gilt pallet signature at bottom of rear doublure, in fine brown crushed morocco. The binding is wonderfully designed by Giles, executed not as a formal Guild commission but in the manner of her private, studio workówhere her individuality as a designer and finisher is most fully felt. In full brown morocco, with an intricate pattern of inlaid morocco in russet and ochre on both boards and spine, arranged in finely balanced, architectural panels with sprays of heart-shaped blossoms, and gilt-patterned ruling, large and small dots and circles. All edges gilt. Gertrude Giles, known for her association with the Guild of Women Binders, brought to her work a refined synthesis of Arts and Crafts ideals and Continental finishing traditions. While the Guild emphasized collaborative exhibition bindings, this example reflects the freedom of her independent practice, where her sense of proportion, color harmony, and gilding technique could be fully expressed without institutional constraint. Giles was one of several Guild binders whose work was shown at exhibitions, with at least one of her bindings sent to the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in St. Louis. Several of Giles' bindings were included in the Sotheby sale of Guild and Hampstead Bindery work in 1904, with the primary floral tool used here also seen across other Guild bindings.
Limited to 50 copies on Japon, of which this is #6; there were also 100 copies on Whatman paper, and 50 copies on China paper. With 15 full-page engravings after Eisen and Le Barbier, each in four states. Some light rubbing to edges, corners bumped and rubbed. Gilt and inlay loss to one of the floral stamps at bottom spine compartment; some other minor gilt loss to spine tooling, otherwise near fine with no wear to hinges and internally without blemish. Most scarce and significant binding.