London: Macmillan, 1900. The Globe Edition. Octavo (7 1/2 x 5 inches; 190 x 127 mm.). viii, 1,138 (double-column) pp. Bound ca. 1900, most probably by a student of Douglas Cockerell, in full brown morocco in the style of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Both covers bordered in blind enclosing an elaborately decorated blind stamped lattice design, each with twenty-four blind-tooled squares enclosing a four leaf and central flower design. The twenty-four squares framed by one hundred and seventy four gilt circles with green morocco onlays and in addition thirty-five blind-stamped circles. Spine with five raised bands similarly decorated and lettered in gilt in compartments. There are ten 'squares' surrounded by ninety gilt circles and twenty-four blind corner circles. The spine is lettered in gilt in the second compartment and dated "1900" at the foot. Turn-ins ruled in blind and decorated with three-leaf blind-tooled corners and seventy-two gilt circles with green morocco onlays, green paper liners and double matching end-papers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Spine a bit faded, otherwise a Fine copy.

Although unsigned, this is a remarkable hand-tooled Arts and Crafts style binding is reminiscent Douglas Cockerell’s early work and was most probably executed by one of his students. Douglas Cockerell (1870-1945) was one of the most talented English Arts and Crafts binders and brother of bibliophile & curator Sydney Cockerell. Cockerell apprenticed with Cobden-Sanderson's Doves Bindery before establishing his own bindery in 1897. Apart from producing high-quality bindings, his lasting impact on the book world is best felt through his role as a teacher at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, training students like Sangorski, Sutcliffe, and Powell. His Bookbinding and the Care of Books (1901) is a canonical text on the craft. Fine (Item #6428)