Cloth binding for ‘The Blessed Damozel’
William Brown Macdougall; unsigned
1898
Blue cloth, with gilt motif
10 x 7 inches
This is Macdougall’s trade binding for Rossetti’s passionate poem. The binding is relatively plain and gives little indication of either the content of the verse or the elaborate borders contained within the pages. The book was also issued in a limited edition, bound in Japanese vellum but imprinted with the same design as the one shown here.
Photograph and text by Simon Cooke