10 Eye-Catching Books for Your Collection

An illustration from Richard Dehmel's Der Buntscheck.
An illustration from Richard Dehmel's Der Buntscheck.
From Art Nouveau illustrations to intricate bindings by the Guild of Women-Binders, Nudelman Rare Books has amassed a vibrant collection of visually intriguing tomes that can add distinction to many collections. Learn more about these 10 fascinating finds.
Hailed as one of the best examples of Jugendstil—a style of German art tied closely to the Art Nouveau movement, Der Buntscheck features full-page, half-page, and quarter-page full color illustrations throughout, by Freyold, Kreidolf and other Jugendstil artists. This copy has been expertly rebacked in black cloth and preserving all the original color paper covered boards.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksDesigned by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson and bound by The Doves Bindery, these volumes of Arnold’s poetry exemplify classic Doves Bindery style, featuring crimson crushed morocco and intriguing gilt-stamped designs on spine and elsewhere. Each book is signed “The Doves Bindery, 18 C-S 97" in the dentelles. Dedicated to the artistry of bookbinding, The Doves Bindery produced some of highest quality bindings in the modern era.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksBased on Arthurian legends and folklore, Burne-Jones’s book presents 38 illustrations inspired by each featured plant’s common name. This copy of The Flower Book is one of 300 copies and features the original full dark green morocco binding by W.H. Smith Bindery—produced under the direction of Douglas Cockerell—with gilt lettering on the cover and spine, raised bands, and gilt borders. It comes with the original publisher’s folding box—a scarce find.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksCompiled from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland stories, this illustrated edition of Delafield’s play was printed by D.B. Updike at the Merrymount Press and features an illustrated front cover, patterned floral design on the rear cover and paper covered boards, and four full-page plates by the renowned artist and typeface designer Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. It is an exceptionally rare book, featuring innovative and attractive illustrations.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksOne of America’s most productive illustrators, Jessie Willcox Smith was renowned for her children’s books and magazine contributions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This large lapbook, the first and only edition of what is widely considered Smith’s greatest book—both in size and color and composition—also features the complementary skills and illustrations of her friend, Elizabeth Shippen Green—another leading illustrator of the day.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksBound in full niger by Eleanor Joachim, a master New Zealander bookbinder who studied bookbinding under Sangorski and Sutcliffe in London in 1903. She later set up shop in Dunedin and remained an active, prize-winning designer of custom bookbindings from 1904-1917. Bound and signed by Joachim, this first edition features a heavily gilt tooled stylized design, displaying a flowering rata tree on the cover and leaf motifs on the rear cover, spine, and wide dentelles.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksThe official, seminal magazine of the Vienna Succession, Ver Sacrum, featured Jugenstil art by most of the celebrated Secessionist artists of the period, such as Kolomon Moser, Joseph Hoffman, Gustave Klimt, Max Liebermann, Alphonse Mucha, J. Olbrich, and more. This rare two-quarto first edition covers 24 issues from the first two years of the magazine and contain most of the important work of the journal.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksViennese-born Podhajská was a student at the Kunstgewerbeschule, and her work appeared in the movement's well-known journals Ver Sacrum, Hohe Warte, and Die Fläche. She moved to Prague in 1919, when she created Mesíce, and was a founding member of the Czech artists' consortium. This signed copy is number 112 of 200 and features 18 woodcut illustrations, 12 in full color.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksBound by The Doves Bindery in 1904, this Cobden-Sanderson designed binding features bold gilt tulip and stipple designs and is one of few known copies in a Doves binding. This scarce volume of poetry and essays was created by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and contains the earliest art and poetry of the group, including contributions by William, Dante, and Christina Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, Thomas Woolner, and others.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare Books“In Memoriam, A.H.H.” is a poem Tennyson wrote after the death of the author’s friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. It is considered to be one of the poet’s best works and one of the greatest poems of the 19th century. This binding by Riviere features a full brown goatskin and an all-over gilt floral pattern on both covers. It is signed with Riviere’s gilt pallet.
Photo Courtesy : Nudelman Rare BooksHailed as one of the best examples of Jugendstil—a style of German art tied closely to the Art Nouveau movement, Der Buntscheck features full-page, half-page, and quarter-page full color illustrations throughout, by Freyold, Kreidolf and other Jugendstil artists. This copy has been expertly rebacked in black cloth and preserving all the original color paper covered boards.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksDesigned by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson and bound by The Doves Bindery, these volumes of Arnold’s poetry exemplify classic Doves Bindery style, featuring crimson crushed morocco and intriguing gilt-stamped designs on spine and elsewhere. Each book is signed “The Doves Bindery, 18 C-S 97" in the dentelles. Dedicated to the artistry of bookbinding, The Doves Bindery produced some of highest quality bindings in the modern era.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksBased on Arthurian legends and folklore, Burne-Jones’s book presents 38 illustrations inspired by each featured plant’s common name. This copy of The Flower Book is one of 300 copies and features the original full dark green morocco binding by W.H. Smith Bindery—produced under the direction of Douglas Cockerell—with gilt lettering on the cover and spine, raised bands, and gilt borders. It comes with the original publisher’s folding box—a scarce find.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksCompiled from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland stories, this illustrated edition of Delafield’s play was printed by D.B. Updike at the Merrymount Press and features an illustrated front cover, patterned floral design on the rear cover and paper covered boards, and four full-page plates by the renowned artist and typeface designer Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. It is an exceptionally rare book, featuring innovative and attractive illustrations.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksOne of America’s most productive illustrators, Jessie Willcox Smith was renowned for her children’s books and magazine contributions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This large lapbook, the first and only edition of what is widely considered Smith’s greatest book—both in size and color and composition—also features the complementary skills and illustrations of her friend, Elizabeth Shippen Green—another leading illustrator of the day.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksBound in full niger by Eleanor Joachim, a master New Zealander bookbinder who studied bookbinding under Sangorski and Sutcliffe in London in 1903. She later set up shop in Dunedin and remained an active, prize-winning designer of custom bookbindings from 1904-1917. Bound and signed by Joachim, this first edition features a heavily gilt tooled stylized design, displaying a flowering rata tree on the cover and leaf motifs on the rear cover, spine, and wide dentelles.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksThe official, seminal magazine of the Vienna Succession, Ver Sacrum, featured Jugenstil art by most of the celebrated Secessionist artists of the period, such as Kolomon Moser, Joseph Hoffman, Gustave Klimt, Max Liebermann, Alphonse Mucha, J. Olbrich, and more. This rare two-quarto first edition covers 24 issues from the first two years of the magazine and contain most of the important work of the journal.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksViennese-born Podhajská was a student at the Kunstgewerbeschule, and her work appeared in the movement's well-known journals Ver Sacrum, Hohe Warte, and Die Fläche. She moved to Prague in 1919, when she created Mesíce, and was a founding member of the Czech artists' consortium. This signed copy is number 112 of 200 and features 18 woodcut illustrations, 12 in full color.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare BooksBound by The Doves Bindery in 1904, this Cobden-Sanderson designed binding features bold gilt tulip and stipple designs and is one of few known copies in a Doves binding. This scarce volume of poetry and essays was created by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and contains the earliest art and poetry of the group, including contributions by William, Dante, and Christina Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, Thomas Woolner, and others.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare Books“In Memoriam, A.H.H.” is a poem Tennyson wrote after the death of the author’s friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. It is considered to be one of the poet’s best works and one of the greatest poems of the 19th century. This binding by Riviere features a full brown goatskin and an all-over gilt floral pattern on both covers. It is signed with Riviere’s gilt pallet.
Photo Courtsey of Nudelman Rare Books