A GLIMPSE OF ORIENTAL NATURE, Pictures and Verses, by a Lady. With Preface, by the Rev. G.R. Gleig, Chaplain General to Her Majesty’s Forces.
by [WARD, Miss]
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY. 8vo, [22.5 x 18.3 cm], 25 leaves, with 22 chromolithograph and hand-coloured plates, including a decorative title with additional gold printing, a coloured dedication and three leaves of letterpress including a printed title, preface and contents; some occasional marks; original decorated blue cloth with a gilt panel design, gilt edges, expertly recased, somewhat rubbed in places, but still a desirable copy, inscribed at head of dedication leaf 'with the authors and publishers respectful complts'.
Most of the natural history subjects illustrated by Miss Ward stem from the authors stay in Ceylon and include a number of exotic butterflies, woodpeckers, 'Walking Green-leaf,' 'Walking dry-leaf', 'Stick Insect', 'Nectarina bird' together more everyday subjects as coffee, vanilla and nutmeg. Each of the illustrations is rather luxuriously coloured and given suitably descriptive verses to enhance the readers interest.
The preface, by the Rev George Robert Gleig, explains that 'It has pleased God to take away the health of the authoress, and to cut her off, in so doing, from most of the pursuits and recreations incident to her position in life. She has in fact been, in some sort, a recluse for many years past… She has thus found companionship in Flowers, Plants, Birds, and beautiful Insects; and having a perfect mastery over her pencil, she not unnaturally did her best, by transferring their shape and colours to her sketch book… This practice begun in Corfu, and continued under the tropical sun of Colon, has not been interrupted since her return to England.'
The only indication of an author we have found is from the contemporary index of 'The Stainforth Library of Women's Writing' where the work is ascribed to a 'Miss Ward.'
OCLC records four copies in the UK, at the BL, Bodleian, Cambridge, NLS and the National Art library in the V&A, and three in North America, at Princeton, Texas and Kenyon college.
Most of the natural history subjects illustrated by Miss Ward stem from the authors stay in Ceylon and include a number of exotic butterflies, woodpeckers, 'Walking Green-leaf,' 'Walking dry-leaf', 'Stick Insect', 'Nectarina bird' together more everyday subjects as coffee, vanilla and nutmeg. Each of the illustrations is rather luxuriously coloured and given suitably descriptive verses to enhance the readers interest.
The preface, by the Rev George Robert Gleig, explains that 'It has pleased God to take away the health of the authoress, and to cut her off, in so doing, from most of the pursuits and recreations incident to her position in life. She has in fact been, in some sort, a recluse for many years past… She has thus found companionship in Flowers, Plants, Birds, and beautiful Insects; and having a perfect mastery over her pencil, she not unnaturally did her best, by transferring their shape and colours to her sketch book… This practice begun in Corfu, and continued under the tropical sun of Colon, has not been interrupted since her return to England.'
The only indication of an author we have found is from the contemporary index of 'The Stainforth Library of Women's Writing' where the work is ascribed to a 'Miss Ward.'
OCLC records four copies in the UK, at the BL, Bodleian, Cambridge, NLS and the National Art library in the V&A, and three in North America, at Princeton, Texas and Kenyon college.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Pickering & Chatto, Antiquarian Booksellers (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3210026
- Title
- A GLIMPSE OF ORIENTAL NATURE, Pictures and Verses, by a Lady. With Preface, by the Rev. G.R. Gleig, Chaplain General to Her Majesty’s Forces.
- Author
- [WARD, Miss]
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Dean & Son, Ludgate Hill, E.C.
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1866
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Bookseller catalogs
- Women in Literature & Society;
Terms of Sale
Pickering & Chatto, Antiquarian Booksellers
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Pickering & Chatto, Antiquarian Booksellers
Biblio member since 2021
Croydon, Surrey
About Pickering & Chatto, Antiquarian Booksellers
Pickering & Chatto has been dealing in rare books for the best part of two centuries. Since 2014 we have been based in the vestry of St. Clement's Church in the City of London, and have a stock of some 2000+ books, principally in the fields of literature, philosophy, social sciences, science and medicine, law and women's studies, from the fifteenth to the first decades of the twentieth century.Due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions our offices are at present closed. We are, however, always happy to receive any inquiries by email.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...