Schloss's English Bijou Almanac for 1841; poetically illustrated by the Hon. Mrs Norton . - London: Schloss, 1840. - 20x14 mm., ill.
Fine gilt tooled glazed boards with a lozenge-shaped onlay of gilt-titled red morocco. In similar slipcase. Housed in the original hinged case of morocco over wood with metal clasp and title in gold on the lid. The interior of the case is lined in with white velvet and the lid in white satin. With a tiny magnifying glass with a tortoise-shell handle.
Text lithographed throughout by H.R. Davies in a nearly 3-point Excelsior. Illustrated with pictures including portrai
ts of Mrs. Caroline Norton, Sheridan Knowles, Princess Marie von Hessen , and Napoleon plus a view of Caernarvon Castle and a picture of a fairy.
Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton (1808 –1877) was a famous British society beauty, novelist and poet. Her first novels, The Wife and Woman's Reward, were issued anonymously.
A conflict with her husband, the odious George Norton, forced her into political activism and writing pamphlets.
These series of The English Bijou Almanac appeared in London between 1836 and 1843. From 1839 called Schloss's English Bijou Almanac after the Publisher Albert Schloss. Schloss was Fancy Stationer tot Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Kent.
Spielmann (p. 160) notes that these tiny almanacs were "a fashionable and by no means cheap present for the Ladies of the Court and similar high-placed personalities."
Louis Bondy (p. 42) states: “They are true miracles of engraving, illustration, binding and presentation”.
