The Art Journal 1851 Illustrated Leather Bound Antiquarian Volume
 
The Art Journal – New Series, Volume III (1851)
Published for the proprietors by George Virtue, 25 Paternoster Row, London (printed by Bradbury & Evans, Whitefriars).

Large folio, viii + 328 pages. Illustrated title page, 40 b/w engravings and 6 colour plates (most with tissue guards). Bound in full calf leather. c. 1851.
 
Overview
 
A handsome, richly illustrated folio volume from The Art Journal (New Series, Vol. III, 1851). This substantial year-volume contains a printed illustrated title page, forty engraved illustrations in black and white and six coloured plates (with tissue guards). The coloured plates are present facing pp. 32, 145, 146, 176, 220 and 261 (contents notes differ slightly but all plates are present and firmly attached). A fine example of mid-Victorian art publishing and Great Exhibition era taste.
 
Binding & Exterior Condition
 
Binding: Full calf leather (panelled boards) with blind-stamped floral tooling and gilt lettering to front board reading ART-JOURNAL 1851. Spine with five raised bands and blind tooling in compartments. Gilt turn-ins at pastedowns. Edge gilt pages.
Wear: Intact and robust, with expected wear for a 174-year-old folio: patches of rubbing, partial loss of gilt in tooling, and a small partial split near the head of the spine where it meets the front board and at the corners. Overall, a handsome, well-preserved Victorian binding.
 
Interior Condition
 
Pages: All viii + 328 pages present. Pages are tanned but neat for age with occasional light foxing and small marks. A few tissue guards creased or torn (not affecting plate surfaces). Small hole at inner edge of p.55 and verso – text remains legible. Light cracks in the gutter at the pastedowns and between pp. 326–327, otherwise gatherings secure and binding tight. A small pen mark on the front free endpaper. A few tiny edge rips not affecting images or text.
 
Contents & Illustrations (highlights)
 
Engraved illustrated title page.
40 black & white engraved plates/illustrations throughout the text.
6 colour plates with tissue guards (present, see facing pages above).
Includes essays, reviews and engraved illustrations documenting arts and industry in 1851 – Great Exhibition context appears in related issues and catalogues of the year.
 
Size & Weight
 
Approx. 33.2 × 25.6 × 4.1 cm; c. 2,848 g (heavy folio).