Essays of Elia By Charles Lamb | Library of English Prose

A handsome early twentieth-century edition of Charles Lamb’s Essays of Elia, the first volume in the Library of English Prose. The collection includes “The South-Sea House,” “Oxford in the Vacation,” “Dream-Children: A Reverie,” and “A Dissertation upon Roast Pig.”

The undated decorated volume was published in New York by Frederick A. Stokes Company. A publisher’s notice at the rear describes the Library of English Prose series as printed on specially toned paper, with gilt top edges, deckle edges, and Japanese vellum bindings decorated in gold and green. The printer’s line credits Turnbull and Spears of Edinburgh. The design has been attributed to Thomas Bird Mosher though no designer is named in the volume. With patterned endpapers. The title pages and chapters feature elaborate black-and-red designs and ornamental initials. A previous owner’s handwritten inscription appears on the front endpaper.

The boards show some rubbing and surface wear, with two small red marks on the front cover. The spine ends and corners with some bumping. Measures approximately 4 1/4” x 8”.