I am a lifelong collector, and married a kindred spirit, so our house is filled with our accumulated treasures. Clocks, furniture, tools (his), and brooches, boxes, and little things (mine). Art of course. And we both share a passion for books, so every nook and cranny in the house is stuffed with them.

My collecting focus is on antique and vintage books with decorated bindings, also known as publisher’s bindings. They came into fashion in the 19th century and were particularly popular in the Victorian era. Most books in those days lacked the colorful paper book jackets that we are familiar with. Though the decorated bindings looked expensive, they were most often affordably priced. Many had simple embellishments to the binding of the book, often anonymously designed, but my favorite are those which were designed by women artists — Margaret Armstrong, Amy Sacker, Sarah Wyman Whitman. They are like little works of art that fit neatly on a shelf.

Take a look:

Are you a collector? Share your collecting passions in the comments below.

Happy August! —lucy