The watchmaker's wife, and other stories

Publisher Charles Scribners and Sons American

1893

Not on view

"An early unsigned Margaret Armstrong binding design in red on smooth golden brown cloth of a square central field of 23 transport balloons arranged in alternating rows of five and four with the words of the title spaced on each side of the field. Spine with titles in gold. A collection of offbeat short stories for adults. The title story is of a yacht that is run aground when a hanging rope of a passing transport balloon gets wrapped around the yacht's mast, pulling it off course and onto a deserted island. When the occupants of the yacht are able to land the occupants of the balloon, they find a watchmaker and the watchmaker's wife. An early and relatively unknown binding design by Armstrong that incorporates a repeated motif of the title story's primary plot device. Contemporary advertising1 indicates that the present book "Can be had uniform with the author's other volumes and also in 'unique' binding with cover design in red of ascending balloons." Gullans and Espey indicated that the majority of copies are found in the uniform binding (an undecorated dark green cloth), which is still the case today." -- Austin Abbey Rare Books.

Photographs of binding from Watson Library Digital Collections https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16028coll17/id/4830

Artwork Details

Overview

Title: The watchmaker's wife, and other stories
Artist: Margaret Neilson Armstrong (American, New York 1867–1944 New York)
Publisher: Charles Scribners and Sons
Author: Frank Richard Stockton (American, 1834–1902)
Date: 1893
Geography: New York, New York
Dimensions: 225 pages ; Height: 7 1/2 in. (19 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Friends of the Thomas J. Watson Library
Object Number: Publishers Bindings 951

More Artwork

By Margaret Neilson Armstrong

By Frank Richard Stockton

From the same time and place

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Album of American Wildflower Watercolors, Margaret Neilson Armstrong American, Watercolor over graphite with brown ink — Album of American Wildflower Watercolors
Margaret Neilson Armstrong
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How to Know the Ferns: A Guide to the Names, Haunts, and Habits of our Common Ferns, Margaret Neilson Armstrong American, Illustrations: collotype — How to Know the Ferns: A Guide to the Names, Haunts, and Habits of our Common Ferns
Multiple artists/makers
1902 [first published 1899]

Threads of Grey & Gold, Margaret Neilson Armstrong American, illustrations: photomechanical reproductions of paintings — Threads of Grey & Gold
Multiple artists/makers
1913

Flowers of the Dusk, Margaret Neilson Armstrong American, illustration: photomechanical reproductions of a painting — Flowers of the Dusk
Multiple artists/makers
1908 [first published 1907]

Weaver of Dreams, Margaret Neilson Armstrong American, illustration: photomechanical reproduction of a drawing — Weaver of Dreams
Multiple artists/makers
1911

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