$2,250.00
1830’s-1860’s - Victorian Friendship Album with Original Manuscript Poetry, Hand-Colored Plates, and Engravings
An evocative and beautifully curated 19th-century friendship album, likely created collaboratively across generations. This richly layered volume features a blend of original manuscript poetry, hand-colored fashion and botanical plates, and delicate engravings, many inscribed between the 1830s and 1860s.
The entries suggest a shared creation—possibly between husband and wife, extended family, or a circle of close friends—offering tender verses written to a beloved wife, affectionate notes to a child on their birthday, and poetic reflections signed with varied initials. The handwriting styles, tones, and themes shift throughout, underscoring the collaborative and sentimental nature of the volume.
Highlights include:
• Dozens of original poems, many signed with initials such as W.H.R., E.L.L., and C. Cole| In addition, handwritten poetry, by the owner of this book, of other’s of works of famous poets of that time.
• Engaging themes ranging from romance and memory to nature and loss.
• Several fine hand-colored plates of fashionable 1830s–1840s dress, botanical studies, and period carriages and more.
• Mounted engravings, including titled scenes such as View from Richmond Hill.
• A presentation inscription dated January 15th, 1835.
Three quarter calf leather with marbled boards. Gilt trim to boards and spine. Gilt to all edges. Binding sound. 289pp.(Most pages with writing; some illustrated hand-painted paste-down plates. Minimal blank pages)
Size: 5 1/4” x 8”
A remarkable testament to personal expression, domestic creativity, and enduring affection—this album captures the emotional tapestry of 19th-century life in a deeply human and artistic form.