Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Evangeline Mary Daniell


I only know of one cover by Evangeline Mary Daniell, who also went by the signature "Eva," but it is such an exceptional Art Nouveau design that it's likely there are others to be found. Please do post a comment if you know of any. Her monogram EMD is on both the cover and dust jacket of the first printing of The Seven Seas by Rudyard Kipling, the first American edition, published by Appleton in 1896. The monogram was removed from the cover on the 1897 and subsequent editions, but remained on the jacket. Three copies were in the first exhibition of American Decorated Publishers' Bindings 1872-1929 (2005).

The design was issued in two variants in 1896, orange cloth and a smooth grey-green fine weave cloth. The orange variant was in the 2005 exhibition. An interesting aspect of this design is the darkened area within the seaweed.  On the grey-green cloth it appears to be accomplished by blind stamping. On the orange cloth, which has more texture, it appears to be stamped with varnish or a similar clear gloss finish.

 Evangeline Mary Daniell
The Seven Seas
by Rudyard Kipling
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896
[EMD monogram at the bottom center, detail below]



A  worn reference copy of the 1897 edition in olive green buckram was also in the exhibition, with its dust jacket quite chipped. No monogram on the cover, but it is on the dj:



and a copy of the 1899 edition in grey-green cloth:






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