A Loose Rein

London, UK, Bradbury, Agnew & Co. , 1887. Very Good. Hardcover. Bright pictorial boards, 8.00 x 6.00 inches approx. , dark red embellished with gold and black, titles in gilt, horse and dog in gilt, the illustration is a rider coming down a slope and falling off his horse, the dog looks back with some surprise, really clean and glistening, the spine is slightly faded so the gilt is not as prominent, small image of a rider on a horse he looks as if he is just about to fall off, bevelled edge, a little fraying to extreme edge of the bottom front corner, really tiny scuff on lower edge of the front board, spine creased to top and bottom of spine, back board bright and clean, blind stamped double line forming decorative frame to rear board, a hint of background soiling but basically very good. When considering its age and use the overall appearance of the binding is stunning, cream endpapers, neat signature of a previous owner to the front endpaper, 'Richard Stileman, 'some froxing to "preliminaries, white paper protected frontispiece, colour engraving 'What about young Mr Clare?" Illustrated by G Bowers, 22 Coloured illustrations each protected by a single white sheet of paper. Superb pictures generally in pastel shades these capture the essence of the country pursuits of the times such as Hunting they also show the nature of country life, the people, the horses, domestic settings, countryside and dogs. There are also black and white engravings that embellish the text. Ideal for collectors of rare pictorial covers and fabulous for countryside and equestrian enthusiasts. The author "Wonderer" appears to have a good sense of humour this name is the pseudonym used by Elim H D'Avigdor, a sports journalist whoworked with G Bowers on other novels. His text brings out a sense of fun and mischief in the illustrations drawn by Bowers. .