THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS (BINDINGS - HAND-PAINTED VELLUM). NEWMAN, CARDINAL JOHN HENRY Bindings - Modern (1900-70),Poetry,Women - Binders

130 x 105 mm. (5 x 4"). 59, [1], 4 (ads) pp. Pretty contemporary stiff vellum, painted in colors and gilt, covers with gilt fillet frame, a large pink flower sprig dominating the covers (that on front in full bloom, that on rear still a bud), the background dotted with free-form spots of gilt, upper cover with a scarlet fleur-de-lys in upper right corner, smooth spine with ink titling, gilt-patterned endpapers. Tidcombe, "Women Bookbinders," pp. 83-85. Vellum lightly soiled, green paint on rear board slightly rubbed, with trivial loss, front free endpaper cut away (to remove indication of prior ownership?), occasional mild spotting, a couple of openings with offsetting from old bookmark, but an excellent copy, the binding solid, its colors still bright, and the contents clean and fresh. This copy of a 19th century saint's famous poem comes in a charming hand-decorated binding. English cardinal, author, and theologian St. John Henry Newman (1801-90) began his career as an Anglican priest before converting to Roman Catholicism in 1845. His theological contributions led to his Veneration by Pope John Paul II in 1991, and he was canonized in 2019 by Pope Francis. "The Dream of Gerontius" follows a faithful dying man as he approaches judgment and eventual peace. A section of the poem, "Praise to the Holiest in the Height" went on to become a popular hymn, and the work as a whole is credited with a public reassessment of purgatory, since, in DNB's words, Newman's "deeply spiritual depiction of purgatory" stood in strong contrast to the popular understanding of purgatory as a place of torturous punishment. The real story here is the binding, which is evidently the work of a talented amateur, very likely a woman. Marianne Tidcombe tells us that painted vellum bindings enjoyed a fair amount of popularity among women in the last decade of the 19th century, saying it was "a natural expression for women with some artistic talent who wished to decorate books." Many were produced by the Royal School of Art Needlework, using designs similar to their embroidery work, and both the vellum and embroidered bindings were clearly produced in the Arts & Crafts tradition. The one drawback to these attractive bindings is their fragility. Tidcombe notes that "the books will not take much handling," with the gilt especially prone to wearing off. That ours has survived with only minor rubbing is a welcome surprise.