Description

Early original 1900 issue of a classic American bibliophilic quarterly, scarce in any condition. The Book-Lover: A Magazine of Book Lore, devoted to literary history, bibliography, book collecting, and publishing culture at the turn of the twentieth century. The Book-Lover Press, San Francisco, California, Published date: 1900. Original paper covers; pages 257-383, with additional unnumbered pages at front containing table of contents and advertisements; 31 cm. Quarterly periodical. Number 3, Spring issue, covering March to June, 1900. In acceptable to poor condition. Original green printed paper wrappers present but heavily worn, with large chips and losses to front and rear covers, extensive edge chipping, tearing, and surface loss. Covers extremely fragile and crumbling at edges. Spine reinforced with later binding tape to keep the text block intact. Text block complete with all pages present; moderate to heavy age toning throughout; light to moderate edge chipping and small tears to page margins, not affecting text. Text block binding fragile but holding. All text in text block is legible. Early issue of The Book-Lover: A Magazine of Book Lore, a highly regarded American bibliophilic quarterly devoted to literary history, book collecting, bibliography, and publishing anecdotes, edited and conducted by W. E. Price and issued by The Book-Lover Press in San Francisco. The magazine is notable for its essays by leading literary figures, librarians, bibliographers, and critics of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and is frequently cited in later studies of American book collecting culture. Contents include: Privately Illustrated Books: A Plea for Bibliomania by Daniel M. Tredwell; Balzac and Others; In the Royal Library, Windsor Castle; What Makes Books Rare by A. R. Spofford; Mrs. Humphry Ward on Charlotte Bronte; The First Printed Book and Its Printers by Percy Fitzgerald; Bernard Quaritch; Book-Fires under James I by J. Anson Farrar; Literature in Captivity by Herbert M. Sanders; The Mystery of Lord Bateman by Andrew Lang; The Proposal in Fiction, being a chapter from How to Make Love and Get Married by D. R. McNally Jr.; The Archaeology of Nursery Classics by Agnes Carr Sage; The Oldest Guide-Book in the World by Charles Whibley; Byron at Pisa by Janet Ross; along with additional shorter literary notes, reviews, verse, and bibliographical commentary. Despite its compromised condition, this is a scarce original early issue documenting turn-of-the-century Anglo-American bibliophilic thought, with contributions by major literary critics, librarians, and historians.