John Hay.
Heinemann.
1903.
Hardbck.
Profusely illustrated, contemporary 3/4 green calf. This is an especially attractive copy, beautifully bound about 1920 by Eric Wilfred Dickens, bookbinder, (born 24/9/1888) of 46 Mordaunt St. Stockwell, London. The spine has a leather label and five raised bands & is densely tooled in gilt. This copy was used as a sample of Mr Dickens bookbinding skill & was purchased by us directly from the bookbinders grandson in its original book cabinet (that may now be seen in our bookshop). Castilian Days, by John Hay, has gone through eight editions since its publication in 1871. Its seventeen essays present a vivid picture of the life of Spain. Joining a graceful and brilliant style with the acute observation and perception, Hay scrutinises the mediæval civilization of the Iberian peninsula which has lasted over into the nineteenth centurya civilization where the Church holds sway as it did in the Middle Ages: where the upper classes believe in devils, and the peasants dare not yawn without crossing themselves, lest an imp find lodges in them; where deadly duels are fought whenever a caballeros fragile honour is offended; where the Carnival survives as a naïve, popular fête. Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Alcalá, Seville, are described at home, at church, at the bull-fights, at the miracle-play. The whole history of Spainof its Moors, its Goths, its Castiliansis written in its streets and its customs. Hay's book is the work at once of the shrewd social observer and the imaginative lyricist.