The Day of the Dog
Price: $75.00
Hard Cover. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1904. First Edition. Very Good.
Illustrated by Harrison Fisher. Decorated by Margaret Armstrong and Helen Maitland Armstrong. First edition, second state with "Cave Canem" to the copyright page, in the Blank's "A" binding. Publisher's red decorative cloth designed and signed by Margaret Armstrong, with an Art Nouveau winged dog's head design to the front board, and pictorial pink endpapers designed by Helen Maitland Armstrong. Very good, with a lean to spine, some rubbing to spine, lightly bumped corners, small separation to pp. 88-89, and contemporary ownership inscription to recto of frontispiece. Overall, a bright copy. BAL 13506. Gullans and Espey 156B. The Day of the Dog is a humorous romance novel that tells the story of Mr. Crosby, a lawyer who takes an interest in Mrs. Delancy, a client of his firm. In addition to facing the malicious antics of her brother-in-law, Crosby must best a ferocious bulldog named Swallow to complete his legal task and win the heart of his lady. The Day of the Dog is bound in a decorative publisher's binding that is demonstrative of the early collaboration between noted designer Margaret Armstrong and her sister Helen Maitland Armstrong, with whom she designed her earliest bindings. Notably, this binding, which only appeared on the second state text, is similar to the first state binding, which has the same floral border on a red cloth but with a bulldog illustration in place of the subtitle lettering. Margaret Armstrong (1867-1944) was a renowned artist and designer. Along with her contemporary Sarah Wyman Whitman (1824-1904), Armstrong is an example of how the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic movements at the time provided new opportunities for women's employment in the arts. Raised in New York City, Armstrong started designing book covers by 1890. After starting her career with A. C. McClurg Publishing Company, Armstrong worked primarily for Scribner's and specifically focused on the works of a few authors. Item #GBMC003
