George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives

Blissful Books and Bindings

Joseph Zaehnsdorf

Joseph Zaehnsdorf (1816-1886), a native of Budapest, became one of Europe's most famous fine custom binders. Founded in London in 1842, his firm created a wide variety of traditional and less-traditional leather bindings. The company survives today as SSZ, a combination of the Zaehnsdorf and Sangorski & Sutcliffe firms.

Armstrong, Walter, Sir, 1850-1918
    Turner, by Sir Walter Armstrong. Special edition. London, Manchester [etc.] : T. Agnew & sons; New York, C. Scribner's sons, 1902
    2 v.

 Bound, and signed, by Zaehnsdorf in red levant, intricately decorated in a leafy gold design. The doublure is red silk; the top edge is gilt, but all other edges are uncut.

    Number 271 of 350 numbered and signed copies printed on Japanese paper.

Monvel, Louis-Maurice Boutet de, 1850-1913.
    Jeanne d'Arc / par M. Boutet de Monvel. [Paris] : E. Plon, Nourrit & Cie, imprimeurs-éditeurs, 10, rue Garancière, Paris, [189-?]

Bound by Zaehnsdorf in dark maroon morocco, with a gold fillet border and gold fleur-de-lys and star design; the gilt title and its surrounding medallion match that of the original publisher's cloth binding. The end papers are marbled and the paste-down is surrounded by an ornamental gold dentelle; all edges are gilt.

Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745.
    Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World [by] Jonathan Swift; illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London, J.M. Dent & Co.; New York, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1909.

 Bound in full brown levant by Joseph Zaehnsdorf, decorated and lettered in gold to match the Rackham illustration on the original green publisher's cloth binding, bound in at the back. The original illustrated end papers have been preserved. All edges are gilt.

Mackenzie, James Dixon, Sir, 7th bart. of Scatwell and 9th of Tarbat, 1830-1900.
     The Castles of England, Their History and Structure, by Sir James D. Mackenzie ... London, W. Heinemenn, 1897.
     2 v. in 6.

Bound by Zaehnsdorf in red levant; gold fillet border; inlaid red and gold rose in each corner; lettered in gold; elaborate gold ornamental inner dentelle; yellow silk doublure; yellow silk guard; gilt edges.
     A number of the plates are in color; they are inlaid and folding in many instances; the extra illustrations have been collected from various sources for the enlargement of this work.