7/3/2023 0 Comments Light blue quinceanera dresses![]() ![]() Book, published London: Adam and Charles Black, 1912. Take this example from another book in the “20 shilling series”: Burma, painted & described by R. I mentioned earlier that even the most striking cover designs are not necessarily signed. ![]() We already had a copy of both this and the earlier 1895 edition (in the same binding), but it was only with the later acquisition that we were able to research the binding and identify Turbayne’s monogram. Book, published London: Cassell and Company, 1898. ©Victoria & Albert Museum, LondonĪ copy of this deluxe book on Westminster Abbey was acquired in 1997 as part of a collection of books in decorative cloth bindings from the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries Annals of Westminster Abbey, by E.T. Book, published London: Adam and Charles Black, 1907. ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London Suppressed plates, by George Somes Layard. We had the same conversation then! This provided an opportunity to enhance the catalogue record and name the designer. I had been struck by this design a couple of years ago, which explains why the monogram was familiar to both myself and my colleague. This raises the question: how many other examples of this designer’s work are in our collection?Īnother that was already identified in our catalogue is this nice art nouveau cover for a book on prints. We would normally only give this level of description for items in our Special Collections, and even then, older catalogue records can be less full than those created more recently. As we acquired these books for their content rather than their bindings, the designer was not identified in our catalogue. Another example in our collection, with the same cover design, is a work on the painter George Morland by Sir Walter Gilbey. ![]() These were not classic novels, but illustrated works of non-fiction. Black’s “20 shilling series” of “Black’s beautiful books”. The book with which we started is slightly different. Pictorial advertisement for Macmillan’s illustrated standard novels. The reverse of this leaflet actually names Turbayne as the designer of the covers, suggesting that he was well known at the time. The deluxe version, described as “cloth elegant”, cost nearly half as much again as the plainer binding. Indeed, in this advertisement for the series (using a variation of Turbayne’s peacock motif), we see that the purchaser had a choice of bindings for the same illustrated edition. Intended for the gift market, a gold stamped binding gave a taste of luxury. This is typical of the books that would have been issued in this type of binding. (If you look closely, you will see that the monogram he used on his early work is slightly more ornate.) Gryll Grange by Thomas Love Peacock. These include an example of his most famous art nouveau design, which was used for the “Peacock” edition of illustrated novels published by Macmillan in the late 1890s. Although this is a later example, it clearly shows the influence of his art nouveau roots, with the typically sinuous plant forms, but here in a much more realistic style.Ī search of our online catalogue showed 5 other items with bindings designed by Turbayne. ![]() His earliest work, which many consider his best, is very much in the art nouveau style. Although born in Boston, Massachusetts, and living for some time in Canada, he spent most of his working life in England. Turbayne (1866-1940) was a successful designer of book covers from the 1890s until about 1920. I showed it to a colleague, who also had a vague recollection of what she called the “scarab” symbol. The symbol looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Detail from cover of: Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. What was of particular interest was that whereas so many cover designs are unsigned, this incorporated what appeared to be the artist’s monogram. I was looking for an 18 th century guidebook to Windsor Castle, when I came across this delightful book on a shelf nearby: Buckinghamshire and Berkshire painted by Sutton Palmer, described by G.E. The National Art Library has always acquired some books specifically for their artistic qualities (such as their illustration or binding), but there are many more hiding in our collection with the capacity to surprise and delight. One of the pleasures of working with books is discovering eye-catching design in the most everyday of objects. ![]()
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