1895 Verses by Christina G. Rossetti SPCK Edition Gilt Cloth Victorian Poetry
 
Discover the 1895 Verses by Christina G. Rossetti SPCK Edition. Gilt cloth Victorian poetry in original binding, complete and carefully described with photos.
 
Title & Bibliographic Detail
 
Verses
By Christina G. Rossetti
Published 1895
Reprinted from Called to Be Saints, Time Flies, and The Face of the Deep
Published under the direction of the Tract Committee
Publisher: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK)
London: Northumberland Avenue, W.C.; 43 Queen Victoria Street, E.C.; Brighton; and New York: E. & J. B. Young & Co.
Printed in England by Horace Hart, Printer to the University, Oxford
 
Historical & Bibliographic Context
 
This 1895 SPCK edition of Verses was published just months after Christina Rossetti’s death in December 1894, making it a poignant posthumous tribute to one of the Victorian era’s most respected and spiritually resonant poets. The volume draws selected poems from her devotional and reflective prose works Called to Be Saints, Time Flies, and The Face of the Deep, bringing together meditative verse rooted in Anglican faith, moral reflection, and quiet emotional depth.
 
Issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the book reflects the late-Victorian appetite for edifying literature that united literary refinement with religious contemplation. Its restrained elegance, superior paper, and gilt decoration place it firmly within the tradition of Victorian gift and devotional books.
 
About the Author
 
Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894) was one of the foremost poets of the Victorian age and a central figure in the Pre-Raphaelite literary circle. Best known today for Goblin Market and the Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter, her work is admired for its emotional restraint, musical language, and spiritual intensity. Rossetti’s poetry continues to be widely collected for both its literary significance and its devotional depth.
 
Binding & Exterior Description
 
Bound in dark cloth over boards with gilt lettering to both front board and spine, and a small gilt SPCK emblem to the spine. The binding remains intact and structurally sound, with light, honest wear only: a few faint marks, gentle fading patches, and very soft bumping and rubbing at the corners. An elegant and dignified shelf presence.
 
Interior Condition
 
• Top edge gilt
• Superior quality, roughly cut paper with some uncut leaves
• Pages lightly tanned, overall clean for age
• Very occasional small or light marks only, not affecting text
• No rips to the text block (aside from rough-cut edges, inherent to production)
• Some rips at edges of the pastedowns
• Pen and pencil inscriptions to front pastedown and one preliminary page
• Traces of coloured pencil along the margins of several pages
• Very light, minimal gutter crack beside title page and between pp. 144–145
• All pages secure and complete
• Front free endpaper is not present and appears to have been removed
 
Physical Details
 
• All 236 pages of text block present
• Dimensions: approx. 18.5 × 14 × 2.2 cm
• Weight: approx. 430 g
 
Rarity & Collector Notes
 
While not a first edition, this is a desirable early posthumous Victorian Rossetti printing, issued immediately after her death and closely associated with her devotional writings. Copies in original gilt cloth with intact structure and superior paper are increasingly sought by collectors of Victorian poetry, women writers, and Pre-Raphaelite literature.
 
Its appeal lies in:
• Association with Rossetti’s final years
• SPCK devotional publishing tradition
• Elegant gilt binding and fine paper
• Literary and spiritual collectability
 
Provenance
 
The book bears period pencil and pen inscriptions to the front pastedown and preliminaries, along with traces of coloured pencil in the margins of several pages. These marks suggest a private devotional reader’s copy, likely used for reflective study rather than casual reading, adding quiet personal character to the volume without detracting from its textual integrity.