International Collectors Library Set of 6 — Poe, Dickinson, Steinbeck, Saki, Bulfinch, Byron/Keats/Shelley

Six volumes bound in deep teal leatherette, each spine running the same hypnotic pattern: a dense star-and-rosette diaper in bright gilt, interrupted by smooth title panels lettered in gold, then the pattern resumes — relentless, jewel-like, satisfying. The front board of each volume carries a tall vertical ornament, a pendant chain of stars, garlands, and paired rosettes that reads almost like a medieval manuscript border translated into gilt foil. Set together on a shelf, the six spines form a single continuous wall of gold-on-teal geometry. These were made to be looked at as much as read.

The contents match the ambition of the bindings. Byron, Keats and Shelley: Poems, selected and edited by Elliott Coleman (1967); Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable, with foreword by Robert Graves (1968); The Short Novels of John Steinbeck, original 1953 Viking Press edition reset in 1963; The Complete Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (Doubleday, 1966); Selected Poems and Letters of Emily Dickinson, edited by Robert N. Linscott (1959); and The Complete Works of Saki by H. H. Munro (Doubleday, 1976). Six authors, six centuries of English-language literature, one cohesive aesthetic object.

CONDITION

Good overall. Toning and fading to boards and spines with some loss of gilt brightness; light shelf wear at head and tail caps and along board edges, with minor rubbing to corners. Text blocks present clean.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Set of 6 hardcover volumes
• Publisher: International Collectors Library (Doubleday / Nelson Doubleday)
• Binding: Teal leatherette with gilt stamping
• Publication dates: 1953–1976