Anglican Mysteries of Paris, revealed in the stirring adventures of Captain Mars and his two friends Messieurs Scribbley & Daubiton. [Drawings by J.M. Smith, with explanatory text by J.B. Payne.] London, E. Moxon & Son, 1870

Anglican Mysteries of Paris, revealed in the stirring adventures of Captain Mars and his two friends Messieurs Scribbley & Daubiton. Depicted and described by a new firm with an old name, videlicet Smith Payne & Co. [Drawings by J.M. Smith, with explanatory text by J.B. Payne.] London,  E. Moxon & Son, 1870

[3] printed pages, frontispiece and 53 leaves of plates with captions. Tissue guard between frontispiece and title. 4to. Each of the 56 lithographs are tinted line blocks in black against a light-brown background, on heavy art paper, after John Moyr Smith and James Bertrand Payne. Title page bears authors' initials: JMS and JBP. Dedication plate: "To the Prince Imperial of France, a very good little boy, this book, a souvenir of a pleasant visit to Paris, is with his august papa's gracious consent, inscribed as a reward for progress in his English studies by his friends & well-wishers, Smith Payne & Co."  Original brown endpapers; all edges gilt. 

260 x 345 mm. In dark-brown buckram, with bevelled edges, blind-stamped front and back with an intricate design imitating mediaeval door fittings. Red and gilt,  titling and depictions of main characters of the narrative embossed on front cover,  within ornate diamond border (characteristic of the extreme ornamentation of the High Gothic Victorian era). An example of the gutta percha binding briefly popular at that time; owing to the heavier pages, the glue has a tendencey not to survive intact, but this example is still holding firmly iin its binding (slight wear at head and tail of spine; edges slightly worn).

A handsome, period example of mid-Victorian design, by a notable figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, and a splendidly intricate, illustrated and humorous narrative of a journey from London to Paris and back by the authors (Payne under the name Captain Mars, Smith under the name Van Angelo Daubiton) accompanied by Frank Scribbley (identified as Thomas Hood by Stapleton ). Based partly on a visit by Smith and another person to Gustave Doré in Paris in 1869, according to Stapleton, and satirizing English travellers in France, being seasick on a channel crossing, eating and drinking to excess, and enjoying the thrills of Paris. Three illustrations feature Doré: 'The trio visit Monsieur Gustave Doré', 'Who invites them to an al fresco breakfast', 'And paints their portraits in heroic size'. Much of the humour is somewhat obsolete. The dedication to Louis Napoleon's son is supposed to be satirical too (the Prince Imperial was living in Chislehurst in 1870).

After Moxon’s death, Bradbury and Evans took over the publishing firm for his beneficiariess, and employed John Bertrand Payne as manager. This book was typical of the new manager's extravagant production values and lack of business sense. Payne was eventually forced to quit his job in 1869, two years before the firm went bankrupt, after the catastrophically expensive publication of a de luxe edition of Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King', illustrated by Gustav Doré. Tennyson forbade future illustrated editions of his work and angrily described him as 'peacock Payne'. Tennyson  left for another publisher and leading authors Browning and Swinburne followed too. In 1871 Moxon's widow took Payne to court, and he was found guilty of fraud for trying to sell shares in the company at inflated prices and that he did not own. Payne was left destitute and could only pay off his creditors twenty years later.

John Moyr Smith (1839-1912) was a Scottish architect and designer, he studied at Glasgow School of Art and worked on the Stirling's Library project before moving to Manchester as assistant to the gothicist Alfred Derbyshire. In 1866 he moved to London to be assistant to George Gilbert Scott. By about 1867 he was on 'temporary service' for Christopher Dresser and was suppied designs for the Arthur Silver Studio.

From circa 1870 Smith had an busy commercial practice in design and the decorative arts, with clients that included the Minton factory. He also published four books: 'Studies for Pictures: A Medley', 1868; 'Album of Decorative Figures' (1882); 'Ancient Greek Female Costume' (1882) and 'Ornamental Interiors, Ancient and Modern' (1888). He also illustrated a great many others.

OCLC number 504743546. WorldCat locates 34 copies worldwide including 7 UK copies.

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