Bradley, Will (illust). FRINGILLA. by R. D. Blackmore. Burrows Bros., Cleveland, 1895. Boards,125 pp.,plus ads. With 10 plates, 25 decorative borders, 16 initials and a title page, all designed by Bradley. Edition limited to 600 copies (there was a special edition of 40 signed copies). One of the great books of the Art Nouveau movement in the U.S. Externals very nice, internals foxed throughout. Still an attractive copy of a scarce book.Blackmore, English, 1825-1900 planned to become a lawyer, but had health problems which turned him toward his two careers, one as a fruit grower and merchant, the other as a writer. He became a famous and successful novelist, now remembered for primarily for "Lorna Doone." He was an influence on a group of writers of romantic fiction, including Robert Louis Stevenson. Like Thomas Hardy, his interest was in writing about country life; like Walter Scott, his novels often were related to historical events.
