Mrs. Gaskell and Knutsford

n.d. [1900, Preface and from Copac.] FIRST EDITION. 8vo, pp. [xii], [118], [2] + b/w frontis and plates. Red cloth, gilt lettering to spine and upper board. Brown endpapers. Lean to spine, boards grubby and rubbed. James Digby Firth's attractive ex libris (by Frederick G. Hall) to front pastedown. POI, and trace of an earlier dedication, to ffep. Occasional foxing, spine cracked in a number of places, with a couple of signatures loose, but holding. A good copy with an interesting association to Yorkshire and the University of Leeds. By profession James Digby Firth, F.S.A (1877-1968) was a teacher (retiring from Leeds Modern School in 1938); he pioneered nature study at secondary level, leading to the nickname 'Bug Willie'. Firth's wide range of interests and expertise, however, led to him being 'president, vice-president and fellow of more learned societies than I can conveniently name: numismatics, conchology, philately, archaeology, natural history and local history' (Le Patourel cited by UoL Special Collections). The American artist, Frederick Garrison Hall (1879-1946) is known for his architectural and pastoral etchings, as well as his book plates: this is a nice example.…