1909 Flower of Dusk Myrtle Reed Margaret Armstrong Design 1st Edition 6th Issue

Flower of the Dusk. By Myrtle Reed. New York and London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1908. First Edition, Sixth Printing. Signed binding by Margaret Armstrong. 341 p. Decorated binding measures 8 x 5”, 8vo. In good condition. Boards normally scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Head and tail of spine scuffed; gilt lettering and deco overall bright and clean. Top edge of text-block gilt; fore & bottom edges deckled. Normal toning in margins. Very light off-setting on tissue guards. Binding intact. Please see photos. Margaret Neilson Armstrong (1867-1944) was a 19th and early 20th century American book cover designer, illustrator, and author. She is best known for her book covers influenced by Art Nouveau. She also wrote and illustrated the first comprehensive guide to wildflowers of the American west, Field Book of Western Wild Flowers (1915). She began her career as a book cover designer in the late 1880s, initially doing commissions for Charles Scribner's Sons and A.C. McClurg and later for other publishers as well. She designed more than 314 book covers and book bindings, about half of which were for Scribner's. Her later work was influenced by Art Nouveau and favored plant-related motifs, bold colors, gold stamping, and often slightly asymmetrical designs in compositions that often seemed to be moving while standing still. Beginning in 1895, Armstrong began leaving her monogram on most of her covers; it is a simple "MA" in upper case with the "M" slightly overlapping the "A". Armstrong's designs were so successful, sometimes publishers would hire artists specifically to imitate her look. COLI1909ABCX FORN-SHELF-0490-XX-2602-HK3310.…