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Bookmaven — Collectable genre Paperbacks, Hardcovers, Digests, & Pulps.

The Beautiful Book — Illustrated books; Art, Treasure, & Vintage bindings.

NEW! The Golden Afternoon — Vintage children’s books

ABookPlace — Libraries to drool over, Independent (physical) Bookstores, Book Plates…

Banned Library — Books that have been challenged/removed from libraries.

BendingLight — Surreal images to jump-start your imagination.

TelzeyLovesTigger — Some personal favorites from around the net.

A very small number of images on these blogs are copyrighted; for these I invoke Fair Usage claiming neither ownership nor rights, and intend their inclusion only for the promotion of the book/author/artist. Please check all artwork before re-using. If you want your copyrighted work removed, or if you find a mistake, please contact me. My blogs are for fun. Comments/Requests welcome. —Lydia Marano, Bookmaven

AlSO NEW! Having no life, I’ve begun the time-consuming project to restore/rework some public domain cover designs for inclusion in my Redbubble shop where they’re available on a variety of products from wall art to totes. New designs every week.

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THE NURSERY RHYME BOOK (London/New York/Paris: Raphael Tuck, c.1890) Illustrations by Jennie Harbour. Father Tuck’s Golden Gift Series.

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DOCTOR DICK (London: Nister, 1897/New York: Dutton, 1897)

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HORAE — LIVRE D’HEURES d’Etienne Alleaume, seigneur de Verneuil-sur-Siene, en latin et en français. [aka BOOK OF HOURS] (1651)

Held by Bibliothéque de l’Arsenal

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TWENTY CENTURIES OF PARIS by M.S.C. Smith (New York: Crowell, 1913) Cover design by Margaret Armstrong. Illustrated with maps and b/w photos.

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LYRA ELEGANTRIARUM [aka ELEGANT LYRES] collected by Couldonn Kernahan and Frederick Locker. A poetry collection of social and occasional verse by deceased English authors. Jeweled art binding by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, 1867.

Full green morocco elaborately gilt, six small red morocco onlays in the form of a garnet, further garnets, moonstones and small heart morocco onlays, spine gilt in compartments, green and crimson morocco gilt doublures, silk endpapers

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REILURE DE: PENSÉES CRÉTIENNES TIRÉES DE L’ÉCRITURE SAINTE ET DES SAINTS PÈRES POUR TOUS LES JOURS DU MOIS [aka CHRISTIAN THOUGHTS FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURE AND THE HOLY FATHERS FOR EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH] — designed by M.É.-F. Vernage (1722)

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HOLY BIBLE designed by John Field. (1659-1660)

Held by the Royal Collection Trust,

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The large book cover painted with lacquer, colors, gold and silver from the 16th century is one of the showpieces of the Islam collection at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg. It was bound in a Persian court studio and is an example of the great importance of book art within Islamic culture.

On the front and back you can see a heavenly landscape with flowering trees, birds and fighting pairs of animals. The mythical animals such as the phoenix, qilin and dragons, as well as the cloud shapes and flying cranes, betray the Chinese influence. The paint technology also comes from China. The lacquer cover, however, is a Persian invention from the late 15th Century.

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GRAMMAIRE DE PIERROT [aka GRAMMAR OF PIERROT] by J. Geoffroy (Paris: Ch. Delagrave, [1893])

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OUR FOUR FOOTED FRIENDS (Cincinatti: Peter Thompson, c1880)

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A WONDER BOOK OF OLD ROMANCE by F.J. Harvey Darton. (London: Wells, Gardner, Darton, 1907 [1931]) Illustrated by Arthur G. Walker

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This protective book cover from about 1630 shows elaborate silver smith work over violet velvet.

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THE BOOK OF EPISTLES AND THE GOSPELS on the altar of the Gothic Ministers in Ulm

The book covers are rare survivors of the Reformation. They decorated the Book of Epistles and the Gospels on the altar of the Gothic Minster in Ulm. The Epistles cover has the symbols of the four Evangelists with St Antony the Hermit and St Vincent. The Gospels cover has the Virgin and Child with St Martin, Bishop of Tours, and the Empress Helena.

Held by The British Museum.

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THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS (Oxford: Baskett/Ware, 1728) bound with THE HOLY BIBLE

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Byzantine cover of an evangelical volume decorated with gold leaves, with filigree crucifix representing the Virgin and Saint John. 13th century. Venice tesoro de San Marco (treasor of Saint Mark)