BURNS, Robert. Songs by Burns. Edinburgh: Otto Schulze. 1901.
Square 8vo. Publisher's dark green morocco signed on gilt turn-in, single gilt border sides, upper cover with nine rows of gilt and inlaid red morocco thistles, with matching thistles to each corner of turn-ins, raised bands, gilt lettering and thistles to spine, t.e.g.; pp. 99, [5], colophon, with elaborately thistle-patterned woodcut frontispiece and title page, first letter of each poem illuminated; spine sunned to pleasing brown, very clean, very good. Provenance: front pastedown with bookplate of Wolfgang Metzner (1909-92), publisher.
One of limited edition of 500 copies on Whatman paper. This book appears in a variety of bindings, including by Sangorski & Sutcliffe and another by Schulze which features eleven rows of thistles, rather than the nine present here. Still other copies appear in ordinary boards. In any case, this copy's presentation would appear to be unique, and a lovely example of a Scottish publisher celebrating the national bard with the lavish use of traditional iconography. Schulze specialised in producing books inspired by the work of the great British private presses and this attractive volume is an unabashed homage to the Kelmscott. Those copies bound in leather by the publisher himself are both scarce and sought-after.
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