Old rose and silver

"Signed binding design by Margaret Armstrong of a climbing rose on a trellis blind-stamped on flexible ooze leather with titles and decorative floral border in gold; the design, titles and border are blind-stamped on the rear board. Spine with titles in gold and blind-stamped decorations. Black and white floral endpapers; title page in red and black; text pages bordered in black with page headers and shoulder notes in red. Deckled edges and top edge gilt. The original gift box is covered in grey paper and had the binding design stamped in gold on the upper half. The original glassine dust jacket has embossed vertical stripes. Includes color frontispiece after a painting by Walter Biggs with captioned tissue guard. The story of Rose Bernard (who calls herself 'Old Rose'), an unmarried woman of forty who lives with her Aunt Francesca. When Rose's cousin Isabel, nicknamed 'Silver Girl" comes to visit, their lives are changed by the return of an old friend and neighbor Colonel Kent, and his grown son, Allison. Armstrong's binding of a trellised rose is an allusion to the main character of the story, Rose Bernard, with the silver stamping on the lilac cloth issue alluding to her cousin Isabel, the 'Silver Girl'. Putnam released the book in four styles: the ubiquitous lavender cloth, red leather, lavender silk and the present "antique leather"." -- Austin Abbey Rare Books.

Frontispiece illustration by Walter Biggs; title within red and black border; title vignette; copyright and manufacture statements from title verso.

Photographs of binding from Watson Library Digital Collections https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16028coll17/id/4724