A unique Kipling collection in a hand-crafted binding

[Chatfield binding.] - Kipling, Rudyard. Selected Verse.

€ 3.500,00

A unique, hand-made collection of Kipling's verse, with a custom binding by the acclaimed artist and bookbinder, Mary Chatfield. An elusive figure, her bindings are sought-after rarities.

The poems, including Kipling favourites such as "The Legend of Evil", "Mandalay", and "If", have all been taken from different source volumes and expertly re-cut to the custom binding, with the edges gilt. Aside from variations in the size of the type and irregular pagination, there are no conspicuous hints of this composite origin, as the elegantly crafted volume conveys a harmonious impression, with a hand-written title-page.

Chatfield chose a monkey-motif as the uniting theme of the binding, with three monkeys on the front and rear covers, drawn from the first piece in the volume, "The Legend of Evil": "This is the horrible story / Told as twilight fails / And the monkeys walk together / Holding each other's tails". A vignette of a monkey is also blind-stamped on the outer case. The inside of the upper cover features a beautiful doublure depicting a scene of Mandalay at twilight.

Mary E. Chatfield's work was commissioned by many of New York's eminent bibliophiles and private libraries prior to her tragic early death in 1913. A Southerner by background, her work embraced the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement, born out of protest against the increasing mechanisation and homogenisation of the artistic world. This unique and beautiful hand-crafted volume expresses these ideals well.

It is unknown precisely how many bindings by Mary Chatfield are in existence, but every work by her is unique.