A binding by William Ralston for Charles Dickens's “Sketches of Young Couples” (original) (raw)

Binding

William Ralston; signed

[1868]

Green cloth with a gilt design.

6¾ x 4 inches

This elaborate design deploys comic motifs that link the cover to H. K. Browne's illustrations within. It plays on the notion of sketching, uniting a palette and brushes and a quill; 'young couples' are symbolized by newly-born chicks and Cupid's arrow signals romance; experience, the end result of innocence, is registed in the form of a cigar-smoking swell. 'W R', Ralston's monogram, appears below the letter 'O'.

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• Phiz (H. K. Browne)

Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

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