Brighton and its Coaches
by Blew, William C.A
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: John C. Nimmo, 1894. First edition. Bound ca. 1960 in full red calf, covers with double gilt-ruled borders, spine with five raised bands, decoratively tooled in gilt in compartments, green and tan calf labels lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, gilt board-edges and turn-ins, red and white 'Cockerel' end-papers. Royal octavo (10 x 6 3/4 inches; 255 x 170 mm.). Collating xxii, 354, with twenty hand colored lithograph plates. A fine copy.
"Fifty-two years have passed since the opening of the London and Brighton railway caused the break-up of what was perhaps the best-found, the most popular, and the busiest coach-road out of London. He, therefore, who can remember even the last flicker of the expiring embers of the Coaching Era must have exceeded that uncertain period of life known as middle age; while, if we would hear from living lips of the golden age of Brighton stage-coaching, as it was from, say, 1825, we must listen to an octogenarian. But these old-world coachmen, alas! are growing fewer in number; and their memories, once so amply stored with reminiscences which would now be priceless, from the standpoint of the coaching historian, are not quite so retentive as they once were. Moreover, these ancient artists are difficult to find; and even they cannot convey one back to the earliest days of the Brighton road -- that is to say, to the middle of the last century. In venturing to put forth, therefore, some account of the Brighton road, so far as it has been possible to glean its history, I do not claim to do any more than give the dry bones of stage-coaching. It has been my good fortune to converse with more than one of those who drove on the Brighton road in its best days, and their sayings and experiences are incorporated in the following pages" (Preface). Beautifully colored by hand and finely bound, the present work sought to preserve an important part of British life before it fully faded.
"Fifty-two years have passed since the opening of the London and Brighton railway caused the break-up of what was perhaps the best-found, the most popular, and the busiest coach-road out of London. He, therefore, who can remember even the last flicker of the expiring embers of the Coaching Era must have exceeded that uncertain period of life known as middle age; while, if we would hear from living lips of the golden age of Brighton stage-coaching, as it was from, say, 1825, we must listen to an octogenarian. But these old-world coachmen, alas! are growing fewer in number; and their memories, once so amply stored with reminiscences which would now be priceless, from the standpoint of the coaching historian, are not quite so retentive as they once were. Moreover, these ancient artists are difficult to find; and even they cannot convey one back to the earliest days of the Brighton road -- that is to say, to the middle of the last century. In venturing to put forth, therefore, some account of the Brighton road, so far as it has been possible to glean its history, I do not claim to do any more than give the dry bones of stage-coaching. It has been my good fortune to converse with more than one of those who drove on the Brighton road in its best days, and their sayings and experiences are incorporated in the following pages" (Preface). Beautifully colored by hand and finely bound, the present work sought to preserve an important part of British life before it fully faded.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Whitmore Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3570
- Title
- Brighton and its Coaches
- Author
- Blew, William C.A
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- John C. Nimmo
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1894
Terms of Sale
Whitmore Rare Books
15 day return guarantee, with full refund if an item arrives damaged or not matching the description.
About the Seller
Whitmore Rare Books
Biblio member since 2009
Pasadena, California
About Whitmore Rare Books
We operate a retail shop in "Old Town" Pasadena open normal business hours Tuesday through Saturday.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Top Edge Gilt
- Top edge gilt refers to the practice of applying gold or a gold-like finish to the top of the text block (the edges the pages...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...