Gondola Days by Francis Hopkinson Smith
Publication: 1899 Gay and Bird first U.K. edition
a beautifully bound example of late 19th-century decorative bookmaking. It features an elaborately decorated illuminated vellum binding. The cover includes hand floral mot with gilt accents and two illuminated panels inspired by Renaissance era Venetian manuscripts. At the center, a raised medallion depicts the Lion of Saint Mark, symbolizing the book’s strong connection to Venetian culture and themes.
This is the first British edition of Gondola Days, a collection of short stories and sketches by American author and artist Francis Hopkinson Smith, originally published in the United States in 1897 by Houghton Mifflin. This first UK edition was issued two years later by Gay & Bird, a London based publisher.
Smith’s evocative writing was inspired by his travels in Venice, and includes illustrations by the author himself. The content blends travel narrative, fiction, and atmospheric description, capturing the romantic and decaying beauty of late 19th-century Venice.
Condition: the boards are bowed as is usualy with vellum bound books of this period. Front vellum panel with decorative hand-painted letters two showing some fading,pages are clean, binding is firm, in Very Good condition