Victorian Era Books: Little Hazel and The Canterbury Poets

Look what arrived in the mail bag this week. Not that I have an actual mail bag… Would be cool though! Anyway, I managed to get my paws on 2 Victorian books. Little Hazel: Kings Messenger by Matilda Horsburgh and The Canterbury Poets: Wordsworth.

I love the Victorian era. Particularly Victorian Gothic and more so the Art Nouveau style which emerged towards the end of Queen Victoria’s reign. I also have a passion for books, and (in my opinion) Victorian era books have some of the most elaborate and beautifully decorative covers and illustrations.

I just love the blue of the Little Hazel book and the looseness of the illustration and typography on the cover. Wordsworth has some wrinkling on the cover and is a little faded so it’s a little hard to make out from the photo but it has a beautifully delicate illustration of birds and foliage.

Inside Little Hazel is a gorgeous pen and ink illustration of a little girl holding a cat. Kitty’s face is priceless!

Wordsworth is a little less exciting illustration wise as there are only a few little ornate patterns scattered about. I do however, love the fact that the whole book has this red and black theme running through it and every page has that red border.

There are a lot more books out there which are far more ornate than these but I did only pay the princely sum of £1 (ex. P&P) for both of these and although they’re probably worth next to nothing compared with some vintage books, they’re still priceless in my eyes. It’s the beauty for me, not the value.

I have another book, which I’m a little excited about, currently on it’s way. I can’t wait to get my hand on it and get a whiff of that distinctive old book smell! I need to do a little research but I think I may have got myself more than a bargain…