• Original Art: Sangorski & Sutcliffe binding for Rudyard Kipling’s “Recessional” poem
• Era: 1922
• Region: London, England

This glorious binding comes from the revered artisans at Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for the bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat (also known as the Great Omar), forever lost in the sinking of the Titanic.

Crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling’s “Recessional,” a poem written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, this beautiful binding is now part of the Dallas Public Library’s collection. It is a literal jewel of a book, bound in a rich red leather inlaid with gemstones such as turquoise, aquamarine and ruby, and featuring medieval-style illumination.

Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century’s most important bookbinding firms, famous for jewelled bindings like “Recessional” and Rubaiyat and for their use of real gold in the cover details.

In an interesting connection with our larger design library, Francis Sangorski (1875–1912) and George Sutcliffe (1878–1941), the firm’s founders, first met at a bookbinding class led by Douglas Cockerell, part of the family behind our Cockerell Marbled Paper series! We are honoured to work with this pinnacle of luxurious bookbinding and to share the legacy of Sangorski & Sutcliffe with 21st-century bibliophiles and stationery lovers.