LEONARD ROBERTS,  BOOKSELLER

Featured Author

CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI (1830-1894)



A younger sister of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina is considered one of the best of the Victorian poets.
The following is a representative selection of her works.


Bell, Mackenzie, CHRISTINA ROSSETTI: A BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL STUDY (London: Hurst & Blackett Ltd., 1898).  First edition, 22.5 x 14.5cm (large 16mo), in publisher's pale brown fine rib-grain cloth w/gilt title to fr. cover & spine, a.e. untrimmed, slate grey ep.s, 364 (xvi) pp., + tissue-guarded frontis portrait from a drawing by D.G. Rossetti, 5 additional b&w portraits & 6 facsimiles from manuscripts, & 4pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed by Spottiswoode & Co., London.  Binding Very Good (spine darkened, & extremities sl. bumped & rubbed); contents Near-Fine (lt. foxing to 1st & final few leaves).  Academy 22 Jan. 1898 pp.88-89, Ashley IV 108, Fredeman 44.36.  (Inv. #890)  C$300



Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., et. al. (contrib.s), & Ellen (Mrs. Henry) Wood (ed.), THE ARGOSY, VOL. XIX (London: Richard Bentley & Son, January-June 1875).  First edition, 21 x 13cm (8vo), in contemp. ¾ chocolate calf w/marbled boards, gilt title on red to spine, raised bands, a.e. red, olive drab ep.s, 476 (iv) pp. + several full-page plates after Arthur Hopkins.  Printed by J. Ogden & Co., London.  With the sig. of J.R. Snowden to 1st blank.  Includes Rossetti's "A Bride Song."  Binding Very Good (extremities sl. rubbed, & rear cover marbling faded); contents Near-Fine (occas. lt. foxing).  Ives C90.  (Inv. #879)  C$100

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., CALLED TO BE SAINTS: THE MINOR FESTIVALS DEVOTIONALLY STUDIED (London: SPCK, n.d. [1881]).  First edition, first issue, 17 x 12cm (large 16mo), in publisher's dark green linen w/gilt & black design (by D.G. Rossetti?) & title to fr. cover & spine w/design extended to rear cover, a.e. red, dark green ep.s, 520 [xx] black-ruled pp. +4pp. publ. adverts to rear, dated 1-2-81 indicating the earliest known issue.  Printed at the Clarendon Press, Oxford.  Binding Very Good (short closed split to head of spine, covers sl. rubbed, & fr. hinge split w/rear starting); contents Near-Fine.  Ashley IX 103, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Colbeck 19 (a sl. later issue), Ives A14.1a.  (Inv. #952)  C$400

Rossetti, Christina, Jean Ingelow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, et. al. (contrib.s), & Robert H. Baynes (ed.), ENGLISH LYRICS: A COLLECTION OF ENGLISH POETRY OF THE PRESENT DAY (London: Houlston & Wright, 1865).  First edition, 18.5 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's green linen w/black ruling & gilt title-design to covers & spine, bevelled edges, a.e. red, dark green ep.s w/binder's ticket (Burn; Ball 20A) to rear pastedown, 224 (xiv) pp. w/tissue-guarded frontis & numerous wood-engraved decorations, +2pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed by J. & W. Ryder, London.  Includes Rossetti's "From House to Home."  Binding Good (extremities bumped & worn, & covers rubbed); contents Near-Fine.  Ives B14.  (Inv. #876)  C$150

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., THE FACE OF THE DEEP: A DEVOTIONAL COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE (London: SPCK, 1892).  First edition, 21.5 x 14cm (8vo), in publisher's navy linen w/gilt title & wavy upper border to fr. cover & spine, blind wavy lower borders, bevelled edges, charcoal ep.s, 552 pp. + Errata slip facing p.[8] & 8pp. publ. cat. to rear.  Printed by Richard Clay & Sons Ltd., London & Bungay  Inscribed to head of titlepage: "Ellen Douglas Church with loving Xmas greetings from H.F.C, 1892"; also w/the nameplate of John Sparrow to fr. pastedown.  Binding Near-Fine (a few lt. stains to cloth); contents Very Good (1 section sl. proud).  Independant 27 Oct. 1892 p.1524, Ashley IV 104, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Ives A23.1a.  (Inv. #816)  C$350

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., GOBLIN MARKET, THE PRINCE'S PROGRESS, AND OTHER POEMS (London: Macmillan & Co., 1875).  First combined edition, w/16 new poems, 17 x 12cm (small 8vo), in publisher's pale brown fine rib-grain cloth w/gilt design by D.G. Rossetti to fr. cover & spine (blind only to rear), gilt title to spine, t.e. untrimmed, charcoal ep.s, 287 (xi) pp. + tissue-guarded frontis & 3 wood engravings by C.J. Faulkner & W.J. Linton after D.G. Rossetti.  Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh.  Association Copy inscr. by John Dando Sedding "For dear Rose from John, Xmas 1875" & w/his sig. "J. Sedding," both to half-title.  Binding Good (spine darkened & worn at extremities, & hinges starting); contents Near-Fine.  Academy 22 Jan. 1876 pp.73-74, Macmillan 289, Fredeman 44.8, Colbeck 16, Ives A11.1a.  (Inv. #829)  C$300

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., Elizabeth Barrett Browning, et. al. (contrib.s), and A.B. Houghton, G.J. Pinwell, J.W. North, et. al. (illus.), GOLDEN THOUGHTS FROM GOLDEN FOUNTAINS. SELECTED AND ARRANGED IN FIFTY-TWO DIVISIONS (London: Frederick Warne & Co., n.d. [ca.1870]).  Unstated second edition, 24 x 17.5cm (4to), in publisher's royal blue linen w/gilt & black title & design to fr. cover & spine (blind borders only to rear), bevelled edges, a.e.g., pale yellow ep.s, 289 [xviii] cardstock pp. w/tissue-guarded frontis & numerous wood engravings by the Dalziels, +2pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed at the Camden Press, London.  With the bookseller's blindstamp of J.S. Doidge, Redruth to recto of fr. ep.  Includes Rossetti's "A Bruised Reed," "Advent," "The Love of Christ," "A Testimony," & Browning's "He Giveth His Beloved Sleep" & "My Doves."  Binding Good (spine tips worn, fore-edges a bit faded, & ep.s toned); contents Good (recto of frontis foxed w/only occas. spotting elsewhere, & mended split at gutter of titlepage).  See White 134-35, & Goldman 56 ("the full-page illus. are in brown, the remaining being in black to their advantage").  (Inv. #950)  C$200

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., et. al. (contrib.s), & Frederick George Lee (ed.), LYRICS OF LIGHT AND LIFE (London: Basil Montagu Pickering, 1875).  First edition, 17.5 x 11cm (8vo), in publisher's brown pebble-grain cloth w/black design & borders to covers & spine, gilt title to spine, deckle edges, 144 (xii) ornately-decorated pp.  Printed at the Chiswick Press, London.  With the sig. & date (1875) of C.J. Tonge to fr. ep.  Includes Rossetti's "A Rose Plant in Jericho."  Binding Very Good (extremities sl. bumped, & ep.s foxed); contents Near-Fine.  Ives B44.  (Inv. #880)  C$300

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., William Allingham, Thomas Hughes, et. al. (contrib.s), & David Masson (ed.), MACMILLAN'S MAGAZINE, VOL. III (Cambridge: Macmillan & Co., November 1860-April 1861).  First edition, 22.5 x 15cm (large 16mo), in publisher's red morocco-grain cloth w/gilt decorations & title to spine, embossed decorations to covers & spine, pale yellow ep.s, 504 [viii] pp. +24pp. publ. cat. to rear.  Printed by R. Clay Son & Taylor, London.  Included are Rossetti's "A Birthday" & "Up-Hill," Allingham's "Morley Park," & chapters 31-43 of Hughes's "Tom Brown at Oxford"; also incl. is Henry Fawcett's 12pp. review-article on Darwin's Origin of Species.  With ownership inscr. of R. Adam Saunders to recto of fr. ep.  Binding Very Good (spine & edges of covers moderately darkened, & extemities sl. bumped); contents Near-Fine.  Ives C20 & C21.  (Inv. #872)  C$100

Rossetti, Christina, MAUDE: A STORY FOR GIRLS (London: James Bowden, 1897).  First UK edition, 17.5 x 11cm (small 8vo), in publisher's dark green linen w/author's gilt signature to fr. cover & gilt title to spine, a.e. untrimmed, 81 (xi) pp. w/tissue-guarded frontis portrait by D.G. Rossetti & Prefatory Note by W.M. Rossetti, +1p. Macmillan advert to rear.  Stated Limited Edition of 500 copies printed on handmade paper at the Riverside Press, Edinburgh; as in Colbeck's copy (see below) the "8" is dropped from p.81.  Binding Very Good (spine darkened, & ep.s a bit browned w/prev. owner's inscr. to recto of fr. ep.); contents Very Good (margins of most leaves age-toned, & D5-6 roughly opened resulting in loss to upper fore-edges).  Literary World 24 July 1897 p.244, Ashley IV 106, Osborne 386, Fredeman 44.13, Colbeck 26, Ives A29.1.  (Inv. #862)  C$200

Rossetti, Christina (William Michael Rossetti, ed.), NEW POEMS HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED OR UNCOLLECTED (London: Macmillan & Co., 1896).  First edition, first trade issue, 17.5 x 12cm (8vo), in publisher's navy linen w/gilt design by D.G. Rossetti to fr. cover & spine (blind to rear), gilt title to spine, a.e. untrimmed, cream ep.s, 397 (xxiv) pp. + tissue-guarded frontis portrait, Errata leaf mounted on a stub facing p.xxiv, & 2pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed by R. & R. Clark Ltd., Edinburgh.  Binding Good (spine darkened w/gilt thereon faded, extremities moderately bumped & sl. worn, & ep.s sl. soiled); contents Near-Fine.  Bookman Mar. 1896 pp.55-56, Ashley IV 105, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Fredeman 44.12, Ball 162, Colbeck 24, Ives A26.1a.  (Inv. #593)  C$100

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., A PAGEANT AND OTHER POEMS (London: Macmillan & Co., 1881).  First edition, 17.5 x 12cm (8vo), in publisher's dark green linen w/gilt design (by D.G. Rossetti) to fr. cover & spine (blind only to rear), gilt title to spine, a.e. untrimmed, 198 [x] pp.  Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh.  From the collection of Lady Fowler, Inverbroom House, Garve, Ross-Shire, w/her label to recto of fr. ep.; also w/clipped obituaries of the poet (one from the Daily Chronicle) pasted to fr. ep.s.  Binding Good (covers stained at bottom, top edge of spine cloth split, & corners moderately bumped); contents Near-Fine.  Athenæum 10 Sept. 1881 pp.327-28 (by W.T. Watts-Dunton), Macmillan 403, Ashley IV 103, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Fredeman 44.9, Ball 161, Colbeck 18, Ives A15.1.  (Inv. #832)  C$200

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., POEMS (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1901).  Eleventh printing, 18 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's navy fine criss-cross grain cloth w/gilt design by D.G. Rossetti to fr. cover (blind to rear) & spine, gilt title to spine, a.e. untrimmed, cream ep.s, 450 (xiv) pp. w/frontis & 3 wood engravings after D.G. Rossetti, +2pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed by R. & R. Clark Ltd., London.  With gift inscr. ("'Dot' with much love from Mr. Dalton ... Aug. 23rd to 31st 1902") to half-title.  Binding Very Good (moderately shaken, extremities sl. bumped, & ep.s a bit foxed); contents Near-Fine (titlepage sl. foxed).  Ball 162, Ives A22.1k.  (Inv. #860)  C$50

Rossetti, Christina & Dante G., William Allingham, Robert & E.B. Browning, George MacDonald, et. al. (contrib.s), & Robert Crompton Jones (ed.), POEMS OF THE INNER LIFE SELECTED CHIEFLY FROM MODERN AUTHORS (London: Sampson Low Son & Marston, 1866).  First edition, 19.5 x 12.5cm (16mo), in publisher's violet sand-grain cloth w/gilt borders & title to fr. cover (blind to rear) & spine, bevelled edges, a.e. untrimmed, chocolate ep.s w/binder's ticket (Burn; Ball 20A) to rear pastedown, 288 (viii) pp. w/numerous wood-engraved floral head & tail-pieces, +16pp. publ. cat. to rear.  Printed in London at the Victoria Press by Emily Faithfull, Printer In Ordinary To Her Majesty (this title is previously unrecorded as a production of the Victoria Press).  Inscribed to half-title: "K. MacKenzie from W.C.I.[?], 6 January 1866"; also from the collection of Gwin J. Kolb (U. of Chicago) w/his bookplate loosely inserted.  Includes 5 poems by Christina Rossetti ("A Summer Wish," "Symbols," "Advent," "Up-Hill," & "Sweet Death") & 1 by D.G. Rossetti ("Lost Days").  Binding Very Good (stain to upper edge of fr. cover, & extremities sl. bumped & rubbed); contents Near-Fine.  Ives B18.  (Inv. #864)  C$450

Presentation Copy
Rossetti, Christina Georgina (ed. by William Michael Rossetti, With Memoir and Notes &c.), THE POETICAL WORKS (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1904).  First edition, first issue, 19 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's dark lime green diaper-grain cloth w/gilt title to spine, a.e. untrimmed, cream ep.s, 507 [lxxiv] pp. + tissue-guarded frontis portrait.  Printed by R. & R. Clark Ltd., Edinburgh.  Inscribed to recto of fr. ep.: "To Miss Zitella E. Tomkins with best regards, W.M. Rossetti, Jany 1904" (Miss Tomkins was the author of Sister Lucetta and Other Poems [London: Kegan Paul Trench, 1887]).  Binding Good (extremities moderately bumped & worn, covers somewhat mottled, spine darkened, & ep.s foxed); contents Very Good (1st & final few leaves foxed).  Athenæum 2 Apr. 1904 pp.423-24, Ashley IV 106, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Colbeck 29 ("a book of considerable importance"), Ives A34.1a.  (Inv. #865)  C$550
Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., REDEEMING THE TIME: DAILY MUSINGS FOR LENT (London: SPCK, 1903).  First edition, 19.5 x 13cm (8vo), in publisher's charcoal grey buckram w/gilt title & embossed SPCK device to fr. cover, gilt title to spine, bevelled edges, dark brown ep.s, deckle edges, 95 black-ruled pp. w/6 b&w illus. by Walter S. Stacey, +1p. publ. advert to rear.  Printed on handmade paper.  Binding Good (some rubbing to cloth w/fr. edge of spine split, moderate bubbling to pastedowns, & prev. owner's sig. & blindstamp to fr. ep.); contents Near-Fine.  (Inv. #837)  C$200

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., Robert Browning, George MacDonald, Alfred Tennyson, Walt Whitman, et. al. (contrib.s), REPRESENTATIVE POEMS OF LIVING POETS AMERICAN AND ENGLISH, SELECTED BY THE POETS THEMSELVES (London: Cassell & Co. Ltd., 1886).  First edition, 23 x 15.5cm [4to], in publisher's navy linen w/gilt title to fr. cover & spine, t.e.g., chocolate ep.s, 684 (lii) pp. w/facsimile signature of each poet heading their works, +14pp. publ. cat. to rear.  Inscribed to recto of 1st blank: "Florence S. Thompson from her Sisters, 3rd August 1887."  Includes 4 poems by Rossetti ("A Christmas Carol," "An Apple Gathering," "No Thank You John," & "Jessie Cameron").  Binding Good (spine marked w/gilt thereon faded, corner-tips moderately bumped & wor, & hinges sl. cracked); contents Near-Fine.  Ives B80.  (Inv. #881)  C$100

Rossetti, Christina G., George MacDonald, William Allingham, et. al. (contrib.s), A ROUND OF DAYS DESCRIBED IN ORIGINAL POEMS BY SOME OF OUR MOST CELEBRATED POETS, AND IN PICTURES BY EMINENT ARTISTS (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1866).  First edition, 25.5 x 20cm [4to], in publisher’s green sand-grain cloth w/gilt red & blue decorations & title to covers, gilt decorations & title to spine (all designed by John Leighton, w/his gilt initials to covers), bevelled edges, a.e.g., pale yellow ep.s, 93 +93 blank versos [xii] cardstock pp. w/numerous full-page & in-text wood engravings by the Dalziels after A.B. Houghton, Thomas Morten, J.W. North, G.J. Pinwell, Fred Walker, etc., +2pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Includes Rossetti's "An English Drawing-Room (1865)" & "By the Sea."  Printed at the Camden Press, London.  Binding Good (top half of fr. cover stained [rear cover is pristine], & fr. ep. lacking); contents Very Good (biopredation to edges of a few leaves, & occas. foxing).  Fun 11 Nov. 1865 p.81, White 4 & 125 ("one of the finest of the illustrated gift-books"), Reid passim, Ray 153 & passim, de Beaumont 346, Goldman 82 & passim, Ives B19.  (Inv. #921)  C$300

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., SEEK AND FIND: A DOUBLE SERIES OF SHORT STUDIES OF THE BENEDICITE (London: SPCK, n.d. [1879]).  First edition, first issue, 17 x 11.5cm (16mo), in publisher’s dark green linen w/gilt & black decorations & title to fr. cover & spine (upper black line extended to rear cover), dark brown ep.s, 328 pp. +4pp. publ. cat. (dated 22-9-79 as in Colbeck's copy) to rear.  Printed at the Clarendon Press, Oxford.  Binding Very Good (sl. rubbing to covers); contents Near-Fine (lt. foxing to edges).  Saturday Review 6 Dec. 1879 p.704, Ashley IV 102, Colbeck 17, Ives A13.1a.  (Inv. #954)  C$500

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., and Arthur Hughes (illus.), SING-SONG. A NURSERY RHYME BOOK (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1872).  First edition, first issue binding, 18 x 13.5cm (large 16mo), in publisher's lime green linen w/gilt decorations & title to fr. cover & spine (blind lines only to rear), a.e.g., cream ep.s, 130 (x) pp. w/frontis & 121 wood engravings by the Dalziels after Hughes, +2pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed at the Camden Press, London.  Binding Good (extremities moderately bumped & rubbed, cloth unevenly discoloured, & hinges cracked); contents Good (lt. tidemarks to a few leaves, & occas. thumbing & foxing).  Athenæum 6 Jan. 1872 p.11, Dalziels 354, Ashley IV 101, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Osborne 77, Fredeman 44.6 & 93.35, Ray 179, Ball 87, Colbeck 14, de Beaumont 345, Goldman 365, Ives A8.1a.i Binding A.  (Inv. #822)  C$300

Rossetti, Christina, SPEAKING LIKENESSES WITH PICTURES THEREOF BY ARTHUR HUGHES (London: Macmillan & Co., 1874).  First edition, first issue binding, 18.5 x 12.5cm (large 16mo), in publisher's royal blue linen w/gilt ruling, decoration & title (designed by Hughes) to fr. cover (blind ruling only to rear), gilt title to spine, a.e.g., chocolate ep.s w/binder's ticket (Burn & Co.; Ball 20E2) to rear pastedown, [i-vii] viii, [1] 2-96 pp. w/tissue-guarded frontis, titlepage vignette, 6 full-page & 6 in-text wood engravings by the Dalziels after Hughes.  Printed by R. Clay Sons & Taylor, London.  Binding Very Good (spine darkened, extremities sl. bumped, & ep.s foxed); contents Near-Fine (1st & final leaf foxed).  Academy 5 Dec. 1874 p.606, Macmillan 273, White 171, Ashley IV 102, Reid 92, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Osborne 386 ("both the plot and the illustrations ... bear a strong resemblance to Alice in Wonderland"), Fredeman 44.7 & 93.40, Ray 181, Ball 87, Colbeck 15, Goldman 366, Ives A10.1a Binding A.  (Inv. #933)  C$500

Rossetti, Christina, SPEAKING LIKENESSES WITH PICTURES THEREOF BY ARTHUR HUGHES (London: Macmillan & Co., 1874).  First edition, second issue binding, 18.5 x 12cm (large 16mo), in publisher's dark blue linen w/blind borders to covers & gilt title to spine, cream ep.s, [i-vii] viii, [1] 2-96 pp. w/tissue-guarded frontis, titlepage vignette, 6 full-page & 6 in-text wood engravings by the Dalziels after Hughes.  Printed by R. Clay Sons & Taylor, London.  Lightly inscr. in pencil to recto of fr. ep.: "Lucy Hunt from Mother - 1929."  Binding Very Good (spine sunned, extremities sl. worn, & ep.s moderatley browned); contents Near-Fine (edges sl. dusty).  Academy 5 Dec. 1874 p.606, Macmillan 273, White 171, Ashley IV 102, Reid 92, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Osborne 386 ("both the plot and the illustrations ... bear a strong resemblance to Alice in Wonderland"), Fredeman 44.7 & 93.40, Ray 181, Ball 87, Colbeck 15, Goldman 366, Ives A10.1a Binding B.  (Inv. #951)  C$250

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., TIME FLIES: A READING DIARY (London: SPCK, 1885).  First edition, 16.5 x 12cm (16mo), in publisher's dark green linen w/gilt title & winged-hourglass & butterfly device to fr. cover, gilt title & SPCK device to spine, a.e. red, charcoal ep.s, 280 [iv] pp. +4pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed by Horace Hart at the University Press, Oxford.  With the sig. of Eva Hartley to titlepage.  Binding Very Good (extremities sl. bumped, & tiny chip [no loss] to upper edge of fr. ep.); contents Near-Fine.  Academy 27 June 1885 p.454, Ashley IV 104, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Colbeck 20, Ives A20.1a.  (Inv. #699)  C$250

Rossetti, Christina G[eorgina]., VERSES (London: SPCK, 1893).  First edition, 18 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's black buckram w/gilt title to fr. cover & spine, bevelled edges, t.e.g. (others untrimmed), 236 red-ruled pp. +2pp. publ. adverts to rear.  Printed on handmade paper by Horace Hart, Oxford.  Binding Near-Fine (ep.s browned); contents Near-Fine (titlepage browned).  Speaker 25 Nov. 1893 p.588, Ashley IV 105, Ehrsam & Deily 196, Colbeck 22, Ives A24.1a.  (Inv. #376)  C$100




Home Page