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1860 ROBERT BURNS — POEMS AND SONGS
Illustrated Victorian Gift Book in Elaborate Gilt Publisher’s Cloth
BURNS, Robert. Poems and Songs by Robert Burns. Illustrated with Numerous Engravings. London: W. Kent & Co., 86 Fleet Street, 1860.
A richly illustrated mid-Victorian edition of Robert Burns’s poetry and songs, handsomely presented in an elaborate original gilt publisher’s cloth binding.
The volume is particularly appealing for its ornate Victorian cover design, extensive engraved illustration program, decorative title page, gilt page edges, and attractive presentation-book format.
DECORATIVE VICTORIAN BINDING
The original red-brown publisher’s cloth is elaborately blocked in gilt and blind.
The front board features an impressive architectural and ornamental design centered around an oval title panel reading:
“POEMS AND SONGS
BY ROBT. BURNS”
The cover incorporates elaborate gilt borders, floral and geometric ornament, circular medallions, ornamental panels, and rich blind-stamped decoration. The rear board repeats the design in blind stamping.
The spine is decorated in gilt and retains portions of its title and ornament, although it has faded and suffered considerable wear. The gilt page edges remain present, though dulled with age.
This is a classic Victorian literary gift-book binding, designed for display and presentation in the nineteenth-century parlor or library.
ILLUSTRATIONS AND ARTISTS
The book contains numerous engraved illustrations throughout, including an illustrated frontispiece, decorative title page, ornamental borders, tailpieces, and engraved scenes accompanying the poems and songs.
Artists represented or associated with the illustration program include:
• Myles Birket Foster
• Harrison Weir
• J. C. Horsley
• C. W. Cope
• G. Thomas
• J. Archer
• S. Edmonston
• Alexander Johnston
• J. Drummond
• F. W. Topham
The decorative ornaments and tailpieces are attributed to W. H. Rogers, with engraving work associated with Edmund Evans, J. Cooper, T. Bolton, J. Greenaway, W. Wright, H. Harral, W. Thomas, W. J. Linton, and others.
The illustrations reflect the rich Victorian tradition of literary gift books, combining poetry with pastoral, rural, domestic, and sentimental imagery.
ILLUSTRATED POEMS AND SONGS
The contents include many of Burns’s best-known poems and songs, including:
• “The Cotter’s Saturday Night”
• “To a Mouse”
• “To His Auld Mare Maggie”
• “John Anderson My Jo”
• “The Braes o’ Ballochmyle”
Other familiar Burns poems, songs, and lyrics appear throughout the volume.
ROBERT BURNS
Robert Burns remains Scotland’s national poet and one of the most widely admired lyric poets in the English language. His work combines Scots vernacular, rural life, satire, sentiment, political feeling, romantic verse, and extraordinary musicality.
This 1860 edition presents Burns in the form especially favored by Victorian readers: a substantial illustrated literary gift book with an ornate decorative binding and numerous engraved images.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Author: Robert Burns
Title: Poems and Songs by Robert Burns
Publisher: W. Kent & Co., late D. Bogue
Place: London
Address: 86 Fleet Street
Date: 1860
Binding: Original decorative gilt and blind-blocked publisher’s cloth
Illustrations: Numerous engravings throughout
Edges: Gilt
Language: English
CONDITION
Good overall, with notable age and handling wear but considerable decorative appeal.
The original publisher’s cloth remains attached and the elaborate gilt front cover displays strongly. The cloth shows rubbing, surface soiling, scuffing, and age-related wear. The corners are bumped and worn, with fraying and small losses at the extremities.
The spine is faded or browned, rubbed, and worn, with losses and fraying at the head and foot. The joints and spine extremities show splitting and wear. The gilt spine decoration and lettering are dulled but remain partially visible.
The rear board is more subdued because its decoration is primarily blind-stamped. The gilt page edges are present but have dulled with age.
The interior is generally sound and readable, with scattered foxing, toning, and occasional marks. The endpapers show age-related soiling and pencil price notations. The engraved frontispiece, decorative title page, and numerous interior illustrations are present.
The text block remains usable, although the volume should be handled with appropriate care because of the wear to the binding.
Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.
An attractive and richly illustrated Victorian edition of Robert Burns, especially desirable for its elaborate gilt publisher’s cloth front cover, extensive engraved illustration program, Scottish literary content, and classic nineteenth-century gift-book character.
