Binding

William Ralston; signed

1867

Maroon cloth with a gilt design.

9½ x 6¾ inches

Perhaps Ralston’s finest design for a book cover, this carefully balanced composition is far more restrained than most of his others. The lexical symmetry of ‘Golden Thoughts/Golden Fountains’ is preserved in the repetition of the title-panels. Signed ‘WR’. The book was re-issued in 1874 with a design by an unidentified artist.

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Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

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Bibliography

Golden Thoughts for Golden Fountains. Illustrated by Pinwell, Small, etc. and with a binding designed by William Ralston. London: Frederick Warne [1868].

Created 11 October 2016