Item 24A - ‘Frontispieceana’, Vol. 1: engravings, woodcuts, etc., mainly from books, 16th–19th c.

1 volume (34 x 26 cm), containing 216 leaves. The rectos of most of the leaves, and a few versos, have printed leaves or cuttings pasted to them. Half-bound.

Crewe MSS 24A and 24B are Volumes I and II of a series. There is no indication that the series extended any further. The contents of the books were collected by the antiquary James Ford, whose armorial bookplate is pasted inside the front cover of each, and he presumably wrote the titles and other preliminary material. The title-page of the first volume and the introductory address ‘To the Astonished Gazer’ are both dated at Ford’s home, Tomblands, Ipswich—the former in the year 1816, the latter on 10 September the same year. The armorial bookplate of Robert, Earl of Crewe, is pasted beside that of Ford.

On the spine is stamped ‘Frontispieceana’ and the number ‘1’.

Foliated 1–12 (the prelims) and 1–200, with three unnumbered leaves at the front and one at the back.

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