Half Hours with the Best Authors, Volume 1 (Of 2)

Quarter-Bound leather with red marbled boards and foredges. Book is square and securely bound. Some edge and corner wear, light scuffs and other small imperfections on covers, along with a couple of small chipped areas on the spine. (See Scan) ; Vol. 1; B&W Steel Engraved Portraits; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 624 pages; This is Volume One of two, though for reading, it certainly can stand alone. It was published in London by Frederick Warne, and, though undated, it is listed as "A New Edition with Steel Engravings." It is probably from the mid to late 19th century. The Steel Portraits are small steel engravings (1 1/2 X 2) of various authors printed four to a page. Some of the 150 - 180 authors include: Herschel, Coleridge, Pepys, Plutarch, Lamb, Addison, Webster and many, many others. While essays seem to predominate there are also stories and poems. Quite a nice and attractive collection of classic writers and works collected together.