[Sparks, Ellen- Binding], Ros Roasarum ex horto poetarum: dew of the ever-living rose Gathered from The Poets' Gardens of many Lands by "E. V. B.

London: Elliot Stock, 1885. First Edition. First Edition. 12mo. 7 x 4 1/2 inches. xxvi, [2], 224, 223*-224*, 225-274pp (i.e. some duplicated pages, as reported elsewhere). Handsomely bound by Ellen Sparks (mentioned in Marianne Tidcombe's "Women Bookbinders"), who had her beginnings in leatherwork and crafting, and later refined her skills to bookbinding (in London). Sparks exhibited with the Society of Women Artists in 1901 (alongside Ethel Taunton and the Chiswick Art Guild), and at an exhibition at the Pharo Club in 1904. She lived with the artist and suffragette Edith Downing from 1896 until 1910 (see below regarding sale of some of her bindings at the Tomkinson's sale, 1922). Bound in full light brown calf with polychrome modelled decoration. The upper cover displays a wreath of dog-roses (rosa canina) in relief, the petals stained red and the leaves green, with gilt-pointed centers and stamens; the lower cover with a naturalistic rose branch and bud similarly modelled and colored. Spine titled in gilt with a single rose motif at the head and the binderís circular ES monogram impressed at the foot.

Importantly, this binding corresponds precisely with the description of lot 760* in the Tomkinson Sale (1922), and has sale reference number in contemporary script in a circular stamp at the base of the box (contemporary as well). Additionally, a contemporary paper tab is laid in with holograph inscription 760*. In the Tomkinson Sale, the present work is described as ìcalf extra, with embossed designs of dog-roses and foliage in coloring.î The same sale included two other bindings explicitly attributed to Ellen Sparks in their catalog description. The binding itself exemplifies the Arts & Crafts leather-modelling tradition that appeared in England between approximately 1890 and 1905. The decoration is not merely stamped but carefully modelled in relief, with the leather cut and subtly raised to create the swelling forms of the petals and leaves. Close inspection shows beveled edges along the floral elements and finely incised veins in the foliage, demonstrating the characteristic technique taught in late-Victorian leather-modelling manuals and craft schools. The flowers are further enriched with transparent leather stains, producing muted red petals and green leaves, a method widely adopted in Arts & Crafts leatherwork of the 1890s and early 1900s. Small gilt-pointed stamens at the centers of the blossoms provide an additional decorative accent typical of the botanical stylization associated with the Arts & Crafts movement.

The subject of the decoration is also deliberate and symbolically appropriate. The wreath consists of wild dog-roses (Rosa canina), identifiable by their five petals and exposed stamens, forming a circular garland on the upper cover. This motif directly reflects the title of the book, Ros Rosarum ex Horto Poetarum (ìThe Rose of Roses from the Garden of Poetsî), a thoughtful example of the literary symbolism frequently employed by Arts & Crafts binders. The restrained composition ó a central floral wreath set within a broad, unadorned field of leatheróreflects the design principles promoted by William Morris and his followers, in which natural forms and balanced asymmetry were preferred over the densely gilt surfaces of earlier Victorian bindings.

A striking and unusually well-executed example of late nineteenth-century Arts & Crafts leather modelling applied to bookbinding, and a probable surviving work of the elusive binder Ellen Sparks, whose work remains exceedingly scarce in the literature and in the market. Fine condition. In contemporary two-part box, with spine in dark green morocco, gilt, and sides with green patterned paper made to look like cloth. Book is in fine condition.