RESTORATION BINDING PARSONS (ROBERT) Parsons his Christian directory, being a Treatise of Holy Resolution... by George Stanhope, ruled in red throughout, signature a1-2 (4pp. Contents and advertisements) bound at end, CONTEMPORARY BLACK GOATSKIN IN THE MANER OF ALEXANDER CLEEVE, sides tooled in gilt with an all-over 'fanfare' design containing pointillé, flower- and urn-filled diamonds, squares, oval tools and circular corner-pieces, all joined by interlacing pointillé strapwork, with leafy tendrils springing from small urns and contrasting blind-tooled flowers and fern tools, spine in 6 compartments with label and floral tooling, ornate gilt gauffered edges, corners and spine ends and label worn [ESTC T95527], 8vo, Richard Sare, at Grays-Inn-Gate in Holborn, 1703 Footnotes: A RARE FANFARE-STYLE BINDING POSSIBLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO ALEXANDER CLEEVE. Alexander Cleeve is one of the rarest of Restoration binders. The overall geometric pattern on our binding, made up of squares, diamonds and circles, is very much in keeping with the style of a Cleeve binding on a Book of Common Prayer which is illustrated both in Nixon (op. cit. no. 105) and Foot (op. cit. no 142), and a royal binding at the Tower Armoury (Nixon, no. 107). The latter, in common with Nixon nos. 104 and 106, also features the same oval tool as ours, albeit rotated ninety degrees, and and his customary urn tool, a smaller version of which is used here. Cleeve, the son of a draper, was apprenticed to John Harding of London in 1678 and is also notable for being the only binder of the period to have signed some of his bindings. Provenance: Margritte Dodington, ownership signature dated 1711 on fly-leaf; Julia Parker Wightman (1909-1994), gilt bookplate. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing