Kincaid's Battery

Toronto: The Copp, Clark Company Limited, 1908. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Kimball, Alonzo. First printing of the Toronto imprint, duodecimo size, 412 pp. The designs of Margaret Armstrong (1867-1944), utilising the Art Nouveau style and floral patterns, were a sensation in the publishing business; Armstrong created over 270 book designs, often for the works of well-known authors such as Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, and George Washington Cable. In addition to designing books, Armstrong wrote books as well, including a comprehensive guide to wildflowers in the American West, which she also illustrated.

This novel by George Washington Cable (1844-1925) tells of a romance set in New Orleans during the American Civil War; Cable, considered the "first modern southern writer", used his fiction to highlight the injustices of racism in the South, and he is considered a precursor to William Faulkner. This volume is a scarce Toronto imprint, and has a vintage bookseller's ticket on the rear paste-down endpaper from a book shop in Vancouver, B. C.

___DESCRIPTION: Full red cloth, decorative pattern in black, light blue, and gilt by Margaret Armstrong (unsigned) with title in gilt on the front board, gilt lettering and ornament in black and gilt on the spine, frontispiece illustration by Alonzo Kimball with tissue guard, title page with black ruled borders, black-and-white illustrations by Kimball throughout; duodecimo size (7.5" by 5.25"), pagination: [i-vi] vii-x [xi-xii] 1-396 [397-400]. Vintage bookseller's ticket on the rear paste-down endpaper from "G. S. Forsyth & Co. / Booksellers & Stationers, / Vancouver, B. C."

___CONDITION: Volume is near fine, with clean boards, straight corners, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, and the interior is clean and bright; some rubbing to the head and tail of the spine and to the corners, spine is lightly sunned, and there is a faded prior owner name on both paste-down endpapers.

___CITATION: Gullans and Espey, no. 58.

___POSTAGE:  International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.