{"product_id":"robert-browning-cosway-binding-cb-currie-riviere-1865","title":"A Superb \"Cosway\" Binding: A Selection from the Works of Robert Browning Housing a Fine Watercolor Miniature of the Author on Ivory by C. B. Currie","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003e(Fine Binding) Browning, Robert. \u003ci data-index-in-node=\"33\" data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003eA Selection from the Works of Robert Browning\u003c\/i\u003e. London: Edward Moxon \u0026amp; Co., 1865. \u003cb data-index-in-node=\"114\" data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003eFIRST EDITION THUS.\u003c\/b\u003e A superb and pristine example of a signed Miss C. B. Currie \"Cosway\" binding executed circa 1930. 16mo, 6-1\/2\" x 5\" (165 x 127 mm). Collating 224 pp. complete, including an engraved portrait frontispiece. Bound by \u003cstrong\u003eRiviere \u0026amp; Son\u003c\/strong\u003e in full rich brown crushed levant morocco. The upper cover features a magnificent, centrally inset, circular watercolor miniature on ivory of Robert Browning executed by Miss C. B. Currie, protected under glass and framed within a striking geometric network of narrowly-spaced gilt lines radiating outward from the frame to form an expansive starburst pattern, enclosed by a clean double gilt fillet border. Spine elaborately gilt in compartments featuring an oval sunburst with radiating rays, accented with gilt titles and date. The fore-edge of the upper board is stamped \"COSWAY BINDING\" in gilt, with \"INVENTED BY J. H. STONEHOUSE\" similarly stamped to the fore-edge of the lower board. Internal turn-ins are elegantly gilt-ruled and signed by the binders at the foot of the front turn-in, housing pale gray watered-silk doublures and matching endpapers; the lower doublure features the gilt statement \"Miniatures by C. B. Currie\" at its foot. Top edge gilt, others entirely uncut. Preserved in a custom cloth-covered board slipcase.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"11\"\u003eThe physical condition of this volume is graded \u003cb data-index-in-node=\"48\" data-path-to-node=\"11\"\u003eFINE\u003c\/b\u003e using the standard antiquarian grading scale for rare books and decorative bindings; the morocco remains supple, bright, and completely without wear or joint tenderness. Internally, the text block is remarkably clean, square, and tight, displaying an expert, nearly invisible archival repair to a closed tear on pp. 177–178, completely stabilized and without loss of text. The watered-silk doublures remain fresh, unfrayed, and free of moisture or shifting. The watercolor miniature is flawless, retaining its vibrant tone, crisp execution, and clear glass framing. This copy is complete with the highly coveted official certificate of authenticity bound in at the front, reading: \"This is No. 915 of the Cosway Bindings invented by J. H. Stonehouse, with Miniatures on Ivory by Miss Currie,\" signed in ink by John Harrison Stonehouse as \"Inventor\" and Miss Currie as \"Artist.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003eThe Legacy of Stonehouse, Currie, and the House of Riviere\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"13\"\u003eThis spectacular volume represents the zenith of twentieth-century book arts, uniting the visionary design of John Harrison Stonehouse, the delicate miniaturist mastery of Miss C. B. Currie, and the peerless technical execution of the Riviere \u0026amp; Son bindery. The \"Cosway\" binding style—named in honor of the celebrated late eighteenth-century English miniature portraitist Richard Cosway—was initially conceived by Stonehouse, the managing director of the legendary bookselling firm Henry Sotheran \u0026amp; Co., around 1902. Stonehouse commissioned the finest binderies of London to execute his designs, creating a luxury market for volumes that were as much fine art masterpieces as they were triumphs of bibliography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"14\"\u003eCentral to the success and ultimate fame of these bindings was Miss Caroline Billin Currie (1849–1940), an extraordinarily talented artist whose precise, luminous watercolor portraits on genuine ivory inserts became the defining feature of Sotheran’s most elite inventory. Operating with extreme scarcity, Currie painted an estimated 3,000 miniatures across her decades of exclusive collaboration with Stonehouse, numbering each finished book sequentially. This example, officially registered as No. 915, demonstrates her masterful brushwork, capturing the brooding, intellectual character of Robert Browning with astonishing depth and color fidelity on a remarkably diminutive ivory matrix.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"15\"\u003eSympathetic Design and Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"16\"\u003eWhat elevates this specific specimen above typical Cosway examples is the meticulous, sympathetic harmony between the text, the external gilt tooling, and the portraiture. Rather than applying a generic floral framework, Riviere \u0026amp; Son collaborated with the artist's vision by tooling a mesmerizing geometric starburst across the brown morocco cover. This motif mirrors the sunburst iconography stamped directly onto the spine compartments, textually and visually celebrating Browning’s poetic legacy. The choice of the 1865 Edward Moxon \u003ci data-index-in-node=\"537\" data-path-to-node=\"16\"\u003eSelection\u003c\/i\u003e—a critically praised, elegant typographical framing of Browning's finest mid-Victorian verse—serves as the perfect canvas for an archive-quality binding of this caliber, offering an unmatched centerpiece for the advanced collector of fine bindings or nineteenth-century English literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"17\"\u003e\u003cb data-index-in-node=\"0\" data-path-to-node=\"17\"\u003eA MAGNIFICENT AND FULLY AUTHENTICATED COSWAY BINDING BY RIVIERE \u0026amp; SON, CERTIFIED AS NUMBER 915 AND HOUSING A PRISTINE ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT MINIATURE ON IVORY OF ROBERT BROWNING BY MISS C. B. CURRIE, REVEALING A PIVOTAL CONVERGENCE OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY MINIATURIST ARTISTRY, MASTER-TIER BRITISH LEATHER CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND THE CELEBRATED LYRICISM OF THE VICTORIAN ERA, CONSTITUTING A PARAMOUNT ARTIFACT FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH INTO THE COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF SOTHERAN, THE EVOLUTION OF JEWELED AND INSET BINDINGS, AND THE BIOGRAPHICAL ICONOGRAPHY OF ROBERT BROWNING, REPRESENTING A DISTINGUISHED ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE LIBRARIES DEVOTED TO HIGH-VALUE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKBINDING AS A FINE ART.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e #001029\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40753239621781,"sku":"001029","price":13500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0459\/2589\/2245\/products\/cosway915.01.20210213.jpg?v=1628132594","url":"https:\/\/wallaceandclark.com\/products\/robert-browning-cosway-binding-cb-currie-riviere-1865","provider":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}