Miscellanies by [ANONYMOUS]

1880. [History] NINETEENTH-CENTURY COMMONPLACE BOOK. Octavo (24 x 20cm), pp.[12]; 315; [21]. Most pages hand-written in black ink, with numerous newspaper and periodical clippings pasted in. Red full morocco with gilt tooling, and gilt and blind ruling to boards. Gilt titles and additional tooling to spine. Raised bands. Bevelled edges. Gilt interior dentelle. French curl marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. Interior clean with light toning throughout leaves and minor offsetting to a few. Front endpapers slightly split to hinge. Toning to boards and spine. Spotting to upper. Rubbing to board extremities. Very good overall. The owner of this commonplace book had a wide variety of interests, all recorded neatly in a hand-written contents page. They include poetry, literary criticism, witchcraft and the occult, fish, military history, and finding extended definitions for words such as "enthusiasm" and "fame." Altogether, the book provides a fascinating insight into a stranger's life.