London Bookbinders, 1780-1840

B. T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1987 reprint of 1956 first edition. Cloth, 4to,. xiv, 155 pp, 40 ills. From the blurb: "The author, whose previous books French Bookbinders, 1789-1848, and United Kingdom Bookbinders, 1780-1840, are regarded as authoritative, has also produced this third work on London Bookbinders, 1780-1840. He has followed the lines of his previous books in giving as much factual information in a compact form as he has been able to collect on the binders working in London during the period, of whom he has been able to trace about 2,000. The details furnished give not only their names and the various addresses at which they worked during their careers, but also such interesting facts .as their family and business relations, their apprenticeships, the influence to which they were subjected or which they themselves exercised, etc., etc. The Author is, as usual, careful to evaluate the degree of authority of the various sources on which his information is founded. From a broader point of view, readers will find special interest in that part of the Introduction where Mr. Ramsden traces, on a scale never previously attempted, the stylistic development of London Bookbinding from 1780, and indeed from 1765, about which date a genuine revival seems to have set in. The 40 illustrations include bindings by Baumgarten and Johnson of which authenticated specimens had never previously been reproduced. Very Good in Very Good dustwrapper.