Folio (12 3/4 x 9 1/2"). 6 p.l., 151, [3] pp. With double sided bifold of additions and corrections laid in at rear. Mid green crushed morocco by Leighton-Straker (stamp-signed on rear turn-in), covers exuberantly gilt à la fanfare, the design inspired by the 16th century bindings described in the book, smooth spine ruled in gilt, with gilt titling and small floral ornaments, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Spine evenly sunned to green/brown as common in this edition. Housed in original slipcase, with complete suite of extra plates in its original envelope. With numerous figures in the text, 37 plates (29 black & white, three of these folding; eight in color), all with tissue guards. No. 28 of 30 printed on Batchelor paper, SIGNED by the author, from a total edition of 215 copies.
Glaister describes the main feature of the fanfare style as interlacing ribbons that form "compartments of various shapes, with emphasis given to a central compartment. This interlacing ribbon is bounded by a double line on one side and a single one on the other." Ornaments made with small hand tools "fill all the compartments except the central one and almost completely cover the sides." Geoffrey Dudley Hobson (1882-1949) earned a first-class degree from Oxford University, but severe hearing loss kept him from pursuing his intended profession within law. In 1908 Hobson, along with a group of other individuals, jointly purchased the Sotheby's auction house, where he made great contributions to the business administration and scholarly research of that firm. According to DNB, the respect that Hobson had earned as a longtime bibliophile "made Sotheby's the centre of the world's rare book business, and the scholarly standards he attempted to impose across all areas of the business improved the standing of the firm significantly." The present work contains what Bernard Breslauer called "one of Hobson's most ingenious investigations" into the fanfare style of 16th century French bookbindings and the binders who created them. Very good. Item #455
