Gift Books: Part Three?

I spent today cataloging The Rose of Sharon, The Violet, one issue of The Magnolia, The Amaranth, Forget Me Not, and a few others. The Rose of Sharon was not as interesting (to me) because it was very pious and had few engravings (a few issues had anti-Semitic contributions that I found disturbing), though the bindings were very beautiful. 

Forget Me Not is the most charming so far. The flower is used (especially in The Rose of Sharon) as a metaphor for the ephemeral, cyclical quality of life. Many stories and poems concern themselves with death, birth, or theology. 

The winning binding today was a later Forget Me Not. An interesting side note is that some of these books were produced in the years leading up to the civil war, but they rarely discuss or depict politics relating to it. Today I found one engraving and story that did (in a romanticized way) discuss politics/war. The content chosen by the editors (many were women) paints a picture of what middle/upper-class women of the time might have found intriguing, entertaining, and even educational. I posted all the best/most exciting stuff below! Enjoy!

The Tomb and the Rose illustrates an allegory for life and death, a theme throughout these annuals.

I find the imprint on the tissue paper that covers the engraving almost as interesting as the engraving itself, most of the time, the tissue paper has been lost to time and wear, this is a nice example. 

This engraving accompanied a story about a woman bidding farewell to her husband, who was going off to battle.

She's supposedly reading the bible...

I liked this because it's a less common depiction of the American landscape with Buffalo.

This was a fascinating story about the founding of Boston! I read it during my lunch break, spoiler alert, the founder dies at the end. 

Pressed flowers...

Miranda (see below)

Forget Me Not had glazed paper boards and typographic illustrations, this is an early copy that still had its slipcover.

An embossed presentation plate from Forget Me Not

That face in the back left...

"The Sorceress"

They all seem like tales of "sense and sentiment."

Mrs. Sigourney contributed to many annuals, I especially like this little poem.

My favorite cover.

The full-color illuminated plates are very pleasing.