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[BINDING - ALBANY 1835]. The Works of Robert Burns; containing his Life, by John Lockhart, Esq.
New York: William Pearson, 1835. Large 8vo. [2], xv, [1], clxvi, [1], [4], 425, [1], 12 pp. With the frontispiece. Text foxed (pastedowns and endpapers particularly) as commonly. Affixed to second blank leaf is a contemporary magazine clipping of "Gems of Scottish Poetry." Contemporary Albany binding of smooth "Spanish marbled" calf; smooth spine divided into five compartments, black lettering piece in the second, the others with large gilt ornament, covers framed by a single gilt fillet. Minor wear to binding extremities. A lovely provincial American binding, suitable for exhibition. Very good. Item #3885
A RARE ALBANY BINDING BY D.L. VANANTWERP, SIGNED WITH HIS TICKET. THIS IS AN EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLE OF AMERICAN "SPANISH MARBLING" NOT OFTEN SEEN ON PROVINCIAL AMERICAN EXAMPLES OF THIS ERA.
Daniel Lewis Vanantwerp (a.k.a. Van Antwerp) was born in 1826 and learned binding from A.L. Harrison of Albany (est. 1843), whom he succeeded in 1852. His first premises (where our binding was made) was No. 3 Broadway. From 1855 to 1869 he was installed at No. 72 State Street, and then at No. 16 James Street. His was one of the best equipped bookbinding and blank book manufacturing establishments in the city, and he enjoyed a prosperous career. He died in Loudenville (Albany), NY in 1910.
Our ticket, with the address of No. 3 Broadway, is recorded by Spawn and Kinsella, American Signed Bindings (Bryn Mawr), no. 135, an unremarkable binding of half-morocco over cloth boards. Another unremarkable binding by Van Antwerp (with the address of No. 72 State Street) is in the Craig Collection at AAS. Papantonio did not have a single binding by Vanantwerp.
Provenance: Early ownership inscription in pencil on first blank: W. Mooney, presumably a relation to Mary Helen Mooney, whose name appears in an acrostic in a loosely inserted poem, written in a juvenile hand and replete with misspellings. The same hand has written on another scrap of paper, likewise loosely inserted: "Our home, Dansville, Kingston County, N.Y." Then, as now, Dansville was but a small village located in the middle of the woods; that the present volume of Burns' Works ended up there at such an early date is surprising, given that Dansville is more than 260 miles away from Albany. In any event, such a fine binding as this one would have been greatly prized then, as now.
Price: $1,500.00