London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1917. First edition. A very fine copy, octavo (8 3/8 x 5 7/16 inches; 213 x 138 mm.). xviii, errata slip, 598p. Tipped-in color portrait frontispiece and twelve full page illustrations including a facsimile letter. A fine Cosway-Style binding ca. 1940 by Bayntun Rivière (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in). Full red crushed levant morocco, both covers with a geometrical design in gilt. The upper cover with a fine oval portrait miniature set under glass of John Keats surround by an elaborate gilt floral design. Spine with five raised bands decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt. Decorative gilt board-edges and turn-ins, Cockerel liners and endleaves, all edges gilt. housed original felt-lined red cloth clamshell case, spine lettered in gilt.

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases, it will never pass into nothingness." The creator of some of the most famous lines in English verse, Keats' works are odes to the timelessness of the idea of beauty, even as its reality fades. Among his core themes are the tension between man's mortality and the immortality of his muse, and the role art plays in assisting the creation of a lasting legacy. Sir Sidney Colvin (1845-1927) was an English curator and literary and art critic. As the author and editor of this “Life,” he hoped to blend the biographic with the poetic to enhance readers understanding of Keat’s work. It was published in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the publication of Keat’s first volume (Preface).

George Bayntun (1873-1940) was the founder of Bayntun Bindery (1894) dedicated to using traditional hand-crafted techniques and high-quality materials. “The Riviere Bindery was one of the most notable and prolific shops in London's West End from about 1840 through 1939” (Princeton). Bath-based Bayntun Bindery acquired the firm in 1939, transforming into the “Bayntun-Riviere bindery,” which is still in existence and family owned. Although named after the English miniaturist Richard Cosway (1742-1821), the desirable “Cosway Binding” with its jewel-like portrait miniature set into a fine binding was first developed at the turn of the century by J.H. Stonehouse, director of London’s Henry Sotheran Booksellers. Their miniatures were painstakingly crafted by the talented painter Miss C. B. Currie (1849-1940). As the style grew in popularity, other publishing houses quickly began to reproduce this technique—each developing their own desirable take on the aesthetic—referred to as “Cosway style.” Fine (Item #6235)