1902 Picturesque Old Houses by Allan Fea / Richly Illustrated With Pictures of Beautiful Old Houses / SH Bousfield & Co., London

Here is an antique copy of Picturesque Old Houses by Allan Fea. Undated but would have been published in 1902 by Bousfield & Co., London. Richly illustrated with black and white drawings and photos. This copy is 122 years old and so inevitably has some signs of age but remains a tightly bound, fascinating book.

Allan Fea is the author of another entertaining book Secret Chambers and Hiding Places which I have had in the past. He specialised in tracking down and researching some of the most beautiful and interesting old houses, hidden away in off-the-beaten-track corners of the United Kingdom. 

Inside the book opens onto an armorial bookplate on the front paste down and an inked inscription and blind stamp opposite on the front free endpaper (see photos). The main condition point to note is heavy foxing spotting to the pages inside and to the outside edges. The top closed edge is gilt. There are a few folded/creased corners. Gapes open at the gutter in a couple of places and has a cracked hinge at the rear to reveal webbing but the binding of the text block is good and strong.

Olive-green cloth covered boards have a sepia paste down on the front and gilt titles to front and spine. With rubbing and rounding to the corners and spine ends and rubbing to remove the green surface and reveal yellow underneath in several places (see final close-up photo). With a little fraying to the cloth at the head and tail of the spine.

Your antique copy of Picturesque Old Houses will be wrapped with care in tissue and ribbon* and sent well packaged. I am always happy to add a gift card with a message to the parcel.

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H 23 cm x W 16.5 cm, 224 pages, 0.94 kg. I dispatch worldwide daily from the UK. (There are just a very few countries which I am unable to ship to).

* If you would prefer your book not to be decoratively wrapped but sent simply in the full protective packaging please add a note to the order.

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