California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway

Designer Cover designed by Alice Cordelia Morse American

Publisher G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York American

1890

Not on view

A leading New York book-cover designer in the late nineteenth century, Morse studied at the Woman’s Art School of the Cooper Union, then under John La Farge before working for Louis C. Tiffany as a painter and designer of stained glass. In 1887 she began to concentrate on book-covers, fufilling eighty-three commissions for New York commercial publishers by 1905. Complementing the text, she chose imagery ranging from classical, to Renaissance, Celtic, Arabic, Gothic, Rococo, Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. This example is dark brown full morocco with gold and blind-stamping in the style of a sixteenth-century fanfare binding, and was produced for a deluxe gift book limited to 500 copies each costing $25, a high price in 1890.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Title: California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway
Designer: Cover designed by Alice Cordelia Morse (American, Ohio 1863–1961)
Author: William Seward Webb (American, 1851–1926)
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York
Date: 1890
Medium: Dark brown leather over boards with gold stamping
Dimensions: Overall: 11 5/16 x 18 9/16 in. (28.7 x 47.2 cm)
Front cover: 11 5/16 x 7 15/16 in. (28.7 x 20.2 cm)
Front cover and spine: 11 5/16 x 10 9/16 in. (28.7 x 26.8 cm)
Classification: Bindings
Credit Line: Museum Accession, transferred from the Library
Object Number: 56.522.104
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Old Ways and New, Alice Cordelia Morse American, Beige cloth covered boards with brown and gold decoration — Old Ways and New
Multiple artists/makers
1892

Curiosities of the American Stage, Alice Cordelia Morse American, Red cloth covered boards with gold decoration — Curiosities of the American Stage
Multiple artists/makers
1891

Tanagra: an idyl of Greece, Alice Cordelia Morse American, Green cloth covered boards with gold decoration — Tanagra: an idyl of Greece
Multiple artists/makers
1893

Seth's Brother's Wife: A Study of Life in the Greater New York, Alice Cordelia Morse American, Gold cloth over boards with brown and gold decoration — Seth's Brother's Wife: A Study of Life in the Greater New York
Multiple artists/makers
1887

Crow's Nest and Belhaven Tales, Alice Cordelia Morse American, Pale brown cloth covered boards with green decoration — Crow's Nest and Belhaven Tales
Multiple artists/makers
1892

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.