Macaulay’s Essays in three volumes, full polished tree calf pattern books with gilt tooling and marbled edges and endpapers. Ornate gilt decorated spine with 5 gilt raised bands, gilt lettered red and black morocco title labels and inner and outer dentelles. Printed in 1865 by Spottiswood & Co. London. 1st volume is inscribed. Very good, readable condition. A superb example of polished tree calf binding and gilt tooling. England, c.1865
From the Smithsonian’s Blog:“One related type of decorative mottled leather that is easy to spot is called Tree Calf. This pattern resembles a trunk with branches or wood-grain. On the shelves in the Smithsonian Libraries collections are both elegant volumes and practical treatises and manuals with tree calf bindings. Sometimes additional gilt decoration and marks of ownership were applied to the covers, gilding the mottled leather.”
8.5” x 5.5”