Letters from the Levant.

John Galt.

Letters from the Levant.

London:

Cadell & Davies,

1813.

Cottonian binding made by the Southey family.

This volume was rebound by Robert Southey and his daughters Edith May, Bertha, Katharine, and Isabel. Southey, who was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, had learned how to bind books and taught his daughters the craft; when the covers of their books at Greta Hall became worn, they created new covers made from bright, color-printed cotton fabrics, likely intended for dressmaking. They dubbed this their “Cottonian Library,” referencing the fabric they used, while playing on the name of Sir Robert Cotton, whose collection formed the core of the British Museum Library.

From the collection of Rare Book School