ROBERT HOE’S COPY OF THE 1825 JOHN MAJOR EDITION OF WALTON’S LIVES, HANDSOMELY BOUND BY THE CLUB BINDERY

WALTON, Izaak. The Lives of Dr. John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Mr. Richard Hooker, Mr. George Herbert, and Dr. Robert Sanderson… To Which Are Added, The Autographs of The Eminent Men. London: John Major, 1825. Octavo, early 20th-century full green morocco gilt, raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. $1600.

John Major edition of Walton’s Lives, with 52 woodcut vignettes, initials, tailpieces and in-text illustrations, and 11 mounted copperplate engravings printed on India paper, including portraits of each biographical subject and a plate bearing facsimile autographs of each eminent man. Beautifully bound by the Club Bindery for Robert Hoe, renowned bibliophile and one of founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Grolier Club and the Club Bindery.

“More than most authors [Walton] lives in his writings, which are the pure expression of a kind, humorous, and pious soul in love with nature, while the expression itself is unique for apparent simplicity which is really studied art. His character is no less apparent in his biographies than in his Angler…” (DNB XX, 732). Lowndes, 2830. This copy belonged to Robert Hoe, head of R. Hoe & Company, known worldwide for its innovations in printing. One of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hoe was also a dedicated bibliophile who “assembled one of the greatest private rare book libraries of his day, including two Gutenberg Bibles… When his entire collection was sold in 1911-1912, it brought almost two million. Hoe’s holdings included examples of bookbinding through the century, an interest that prompted him to aid in organizing the Club Bindery, a small custom binder of which he served for a time as president. In 1884 he was one of the founders of the Grolier Club” (ANB). Bookplate. Owner signature.