[BINDING] - THE SONNETS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE With decorations by Ernest G. Treglown

[BINDING] - THE SONNETS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE With decorations by Ernest G. Treglown, engraved on wood by Charles Carr, of the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft; printed at the press of the same guild. Birmingham, G Napier, 1895. First edition thus, small 4to, first few leaves with attractive contemporary hand-colouring to the woodcut decorations. In a fine Art-Nouveau binding of full brown morocco leather, the boards with long-stemmed stylised flowers, the flower-heads of dark-blue inlaid morocco, gilt title to upper cover, spine with repeated flower-head devices with circles and pointelles, blue morocco flower-heads inlaid to leather turn-ins on inside of boards, corners worn, spine a little faded, joints starting but firm. The inner board has the fine contemporary engraved bookplate of Barbara Brough. Although unsigned, this binding is reminiscent of the work of the Guild Of Women Binders which emerged 3 years after the production of this book (for example see the Guild binding for Cowper's 'Diverting History of John Gilpin' circa 1899)