Longfellow's Poems (Art Nouveau Suede Half-Binding with Gilt Inlay), Circa 1910 ✍️🇺🇸⚜️

This is a top-shelf decorative antique volume containing poems and selections by Henry W. Longfellow.

The book is an aesthetically superior reprint from the publisher H. M. Caldwell Co., distinguished by its highly sought-after Art Nouveau half-binding.

It is classified as a verifiable artifact of American decorative bookbinding history. The book's value is secured by the superior Aesthetic Premium of its intricate cover design, which makes it a stunning item for a curated collection.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨ The volume contains a selection of the most celebrated works by the American poet Henry W. Longfellow, including essential pieces like "A Psalm of Life" and "The Light of the Stars". The book contains 128 pages of poetry and translations.

The book’s core appeal lies in its design history. It features an Art Nouveau cover with a distinctive circular inlay, showcasing stylized organic forms that were highly fashionable in the Edwardian period. The interior design sustains this artistic theme with ornate, flowing borders on the frontispiece and title pages, executed in contrasting green and black ink. The resulting physical object transcends the common text to become a high-end work of decorative art.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was the most popular and culturally influential American poet of the 19th century. His work was characterized by its lyricism, moral clarity, and broad accessibility.

Longfellow belonged to the group known as the Fireside Poets, whose works were widely read aloud by American families. The publisher, H. M. Caldwell Co., specialized in creating visually appealing, gift-worthy reprints that made classics of his caliber accessible to a rising consumer class.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜 This volume was printed in the Edwardian Era, circa 1900–1915, a period that celebrated aestheticism, craftsmanship, and natural-world motifs.

The dominant design style of the time was Art Nouveau, a movement that sought to integrate art into everyday life through stylized, flowing lines. The book’s construction, utilizing suede and complex gilt inlay, reflects a consumer demand for decorative luxury goods that were both affordable and artistic. This volume is a functional time capsule of the period's preference for refined visual beauty and artistic excellence in domestic items.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️ This volume is an essential acquisition for a curator of American Decorative Bookbindings from the Art Nouveau period.

It is ideally suited for a collector who specializes in high-aesthetic publisher's bindings of the early 20th century, where the value is placed on the decorative cover art. The buyer appreciates the complex, layered design and seeks a high-impact, visually arresting artifact to anchor a sophisticated personal library.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️ This decorative volume is approximately 110 to 125 years old, having survived the immense economic and social shifts of the 20th Century.

Its Bibliographical Scarcity is low as a later gift reprint. Its value is entirely sustained by its Aesthetic Premium. The suede half-binding and the intricate Art Nouveau cover inlay elevate its market worth significantly above common Longfellow reprints. This design is a documented achievement of American publisher's artistry, making it a strong decorative asset for display.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨ The physical condition has been assessed directly from the provided high-resolution photography. The book is deemed to be in Very Good Antique Condition.

• Binding: Bound in a suede or textured green cloth with a contrasting suede spine, known as a half-binding.

• Cover Art: The Art Nouveau circular inlay design is crisp and fully intact.

• Spine: The suede spine shows heavy rubbing and darkening, particularly at the head and foot.

• Text Block: The text block is secure and square; no loose pages were noted.

• Endpapers: The original marbled-style endpapers are intact in a vibrant green and beige.

• Inscriptions: Contains two clear handwritten inscriptions on the front free endpaper.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The Inscription Value: The handwritten "$17.50" on the flyleaf is a historical record of a past retail valuation, providing unique market metadata for this specific copy.

• The Tactile Feel: The use of soft suede and textured cloth for the binding was a high-end trend designed to give the book a luxurious, tactile feel that reinforced its status as a presentation piece.

• Art Nouveau's Goal: The Art Nouveau movement, perfectly illustrated by the cover, aimed to integrate fine art into everyday objects, meaning this book was designed to be appreciated as a piece of artistic design.

• The Poet of the People: Longfellow was the first American to have a bust placed in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey in London, confirming his standing as an international literary figure.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Object Type: Decorative Antique Poetry Volume

• Author: Henry W. Longfellow

• Title: Poems and Selections

• Year/Period: Circa 1900–1915 (Edwardian Era Reprint)

• Publisher: H. M. Caldwell Co.

• Place of Origin: New York & Boston

• Format/Binding: Half-binding (Suede/Leather), Small Format

• Edition/Rarity: Later Printing, Art Nouveau Decorative Binding

• Illustration: Frontispiece Portrait and Ornate Title Page Borders

• Transcription of Markings (Front Free Endpaper): $17.50 (Pencil) / E.V.L. (Pencil Initials)