Original Poems - Illustrated by J. D. Cooper & Others
 
London & New York: George Routledge & Sons, 1868
Victorian Gift Book • Profusely Illustrated • Decorative Gilt Cloth Binding
 
✧ Bibliographic Details
Title: Original Poems
Illustrators: Designed and engraved under the direction of J. D. Cooper; wood‑cuts by R. Barnes, T. Kennedy, T. Green, E. M. Wimperis, A. W. Bayes, J. Jellicoe, A. T. Elwes, & others
Publisher: George Routledge & Sons, The Broadway, London & New York
Printer: R. Clay, Son & Taylor
Date: 1868 - early Routledge pictorial binding, now scarce in commerce
Illustrations: Full‑page frontispiece, pictorial title, and wood‑engraved images on nearly every page
Pagination: 190 pp. + 2 pp. publisher’s catalogue (NB: pages vii–viii of contents lacking)
Binding: Original red bevel‑edged cloth elaborately blocked in gilt and black; all edges gilt; pale yellow coated endpapers
Dimensions: 20.3 × 15.2 × 1.6 cm • Weight: 516 g
 
✧ Binding
Bright Victorian pictorial cloth, gilt vignette to upper cover and richly gilt spine. Minor wear commensurate with age: light marks, small splits to cloth at spine tips, corner bruising, slight dulling of gilt on spine panel. Boards remain square and sound.
 
✧ Condition Report
Text Block: Firm; several gatherings show light separation but no loose leaves. Front inner hinge with small cracks, still holding.
Leaves: Even toning; scattered foxing heavier on preliminaries and terminal leaves. Interior otherwise clean, largely uncreased.
Plates & Cuts: All illustrations present and crisp.
Defect: Two leaves of Contents (pp. vii–viii) wanting, all text poems complete.
Inscriptions: None; pages free of manuscript annotation.
 
Overall very good minus: an attractive and notably scarce 1868 pictorial gift book, complete in the text and illustrations, retaining its original lavish binding.
 
✧ Artistic Note
The illustrations were executed under the direction of wood‑engraver John D. Cooper (fl. 1860s), with contributions from accomplished Victorian artists, including landscape painter E. M. Wimperis, narrative illustrator A. W. Bayes, and natural‑history draughtsman A. T. Elwes. Their collaborative work provides a rich visual accompaniment to these mid‑Victorian verses.