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CONFUCIUS — THE SAYINGS OF CONFUCIUS — 1933SIGNED RIVIÈRE & SON FINE LEATHER BINDING
CONFUCIUS.
The Sayings of Confucius: A New Translation of the Greater Part of the Confucian Analects.
With introduction and notes by Lionel Giles, M.A. (Oxon.), Assistant in the Department of Oriental Books and Manuscripts of the British Museum.
London: John Murray, 1933.
The Wisdom of the East Series, edited by L. Cranmer-Byng and Dr. S. A. Kapadia.
Seventh impression, September 1933. 132 pp.
A particularly attractive copy of Lionel Giles\'s influential English rendering of the Analects, handsomely bound in full polished leather by Rivière & Son of London, one of the foremost English bookbinding firms of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The binding is stamp-signed on the front turn-in: \"BOUND BY RIVIERE & SON, LONDON.\"
Full golden-brown polished leather, the covers framed with double gilt rules and a delicate blind-tooled dotted border, spine with raised bands, gilt rules, gilt lettering, and repeated gilt floral ornaments. All edges gilt. The interior features striking multicolored marbled endpapers and exceptionally broad, richly gilt floral dentelles.
The combination of the austere exterior boards with the elaborate gilt turn-ins and vivid marbled endpapers is especially effective.
Rivière & Son was one of the leading London binderies of its period. Robert Rivière established his London bindery in the nineteenth century; after his grandson Percival Calkin joined the business, the firm became Rivière & Son, continuing under that name until 1939.
THE TEXT
Giles\'s volume presents a substantial selection from the Confucian Analects, organized under such headings as:
Government and Public Affairs; Individual Virtue; Confucius\' Estimate of Others; Confucius on Himself; Miscellaneous Sayings; Personalia; Confucius as Seen by Others; and Sayings of the Disciples.
The translation was prepared by Lionel Giles (1875–1958), then associated with the British Museum\'s Department of Oriental Books and Manuscripts. The work originally appeared in 1907; the impression statement in the present copy records successive printings through the seventh impression of September 1933. The work remained sufficiently popular to continue in later John Murray editions.
CONDITION
Very Good overall.
The binding remains handsome and structurally sound, with the gilt on the covers, spine, dentelles, and page edges still bright. The spine has darkened considerably relative to the boards, with rubbing and surface wear, particularly at the head, tail, raised bands, and joints. Small areas of leather loss or abrasion are visible at the extremities. Boards show some scattered marks, scratches, and uneven coloration.
The elaborate gilt turn-ins are remarkably bright. Marbled endpapers remain attractive. There is some wear or splitting to the paper near the inner hinge/endpaper area as photographed. The first free pages show the outline of a paperclip that must have been in this book for a few decades. Contents show the expected light toning for a 1933 volume, with occasional minor marks, but are generally clean and well preserved.
Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.
A desirable combination of Confucius, an important early twentieth-century English translation, and a genuine signed Rivière & Son fine binding.
