Irish Book Bindings 1600-1800.
1954 · London:
by CRAIG, Maurice J. (1919-2011).
London:: Cassell, (1954)., 1954. Large 4to. x, 47 pp. Color frontispiece, 58 plates. Original full blue gilt-stamped cloth, dust-jacket; jacket with a few minor tears to extremities. Near fine. The standard history on the subject: this is the first book to treat the subject of Irish book bindings from the late 17th century and through the 18th century. The height achieved from these handcrafted bindings is extraordinary. Many of the specimens were destroyed during the Irish Civil War of 1922. The author, born in Belfast, attended Cambridge University, was actually an Irish architectural historian, though for this book he relied heavily on the advice of Howard Nixon. See: Gerry Harrison, "Maurice Craig obituary," The Guardian, August 2, 2011. (Inventory #: LV2057)