Rubaiyat of Doc Sifers. RILEY (James Whitcomb).

Illustrated by C. M. Relyea.

Frontispiece, plates and vignettes.

First Edition. 8vo. [190 x 128 x 21 mm]. x, [ii], 111 pp. Contemporary binding by Macdonald of New York (signed in gilt on the rear turn-in) of blue goatskin, the covers tooled in gilt with a double fillet border and a fillet panel decorated along its outer edges with repeated impressions of flowering stems and dots. The spine divided into six panels with gilt compartments, lettered in the second and third panels and dated at the foot, the others tooled with a flowering stem and dots, turn-ins and matching inside joints tooled with a fillet, roll and leaves, purple goatskin doublures, ivory watered-silk endleaves, gilt edges.
New York: [The De Vinne Press for] The Century Co, 1897.

A very good copy, in a handsome binding by Macdonald.

James Macdonald (1850-1920) was born in Scotland and moved to the United States in 1873. He worked for William Matthews, and then set up his own bindery in New York in 1880. After the Club Bindery closed in 1909 he purchased the largest part of their tools, and the combined collection of c.2800 tools was sold at Christie's in 2000 (for $391,000).

Stock no. ebc3489