The cricket on the Hearth

Few decorative gift books capture the elegance of the American Art Nouveau movement as beautifully as this 1900 edition of The Cricket on the Hearth. Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons and housed in a striking publisher's cloth binding designed by renowned artist Margaret Armstrong, this edition transforms one of Charles Dickens' beloved Christmas stories into a true work of book arts.

The olive green cloth is richly decorated in gilt with black holly vines and red berries, a classic Armstrong design that remains one of the highlights of the period. Her bindings are highly sought after today by collectors of decorative cloth books, often valued as much for their artistic merit as for the literary works they contain.

Inside, the book is illustrated by celebrated Canadian artist Frederick Simpson Coburn and is complete with all twelve photogravure plates, each retaining its original captioned tissue guard, along with all sixteen text illustrations. The interior is exceptionally clean, free of foxing, and presents beautifully more than a century after publication.

Originally issued as an elegant holiday gift book, this edition perfectly reflects the craftsmanship and artistic ambition of fine American publishing at the turn of the twentieth century. It is equally at home in a Dickens collection, a Margaret Armstrong library, or on the shelf of anyone who appreciates exceptional decorative bindings.