Ancient Spanish Ballads: Historical and Romantic

Ancient Spanish Ballads: Historical and Romantic. London: John Murray, 1841. Deluxe edition.

Translated with Notes, by J. G. Lockhart, Esq. New edition, revised (stated on the title page), and first with the Jones decorations. Deluxe Edition. 4to, full publisher's red morocco with highly-elaborate gilt decoration boards and spine, decorated endpapers. With With four chromolithographed plates, colured ornamental page borders, vignettes, initials and cuts by one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century Owen Jones, with six tinted wood engraved plates and illustrations in the text by William Allan, R.A., David Roberts, R.A., William Simson, Henry Warren, C. E. Aubrey, and William Harvey.

External wear to binding extremities with a notable patch of wear and peeling to rear, as well as a few black stains, as pictured. A little wear and staining to the gilt edges. Corners and spine tips are bumped and worn. The spine is particularly sunned and discoloured. Text block is square, joints and hinges are OK, but the rear hinge is a little torn with netting exposes. There is foxing to prelims and sporadically throughout, with some thumb marks and a few smudges, as well as little staining, but all contained to extremities. Uninscribed copy.

There were 2025 copies of the regular edition and the "number of copies of the Deluxe Edtion is unkown" (Private Library, Third Series volume 9:4 1986). "One of the earliest and finest examples of the Victorian illuminated gift book and one of Jones' first efforts as a book artist." (McLean, Victorian Book Design pp. 78-80).