1853 Rare Victorian Book - Joan of Arc and Poems by Robert Southey, Illustrated

Author: Robert Southey. Illustrated by John Gilbert.
Title: Joan of Arc, and Minor Poems.
Publisher: London, George Routledge and Co., 1853.
Language: Text in English. 
Size: 6.5 × 4 inches.
Pages: xxiv, 469 pages + publisher’s catalog at rear.
Binding: Attractive and very good binding, finely bound in full red morocco, covers and spine richly gilt in an elaborate mid-Victorian decorative panel design. Spine with raised bands, compartments densely gilt, and gilt lettering (Southey’s Poems). Board edges and turn-ins decorated in gilt. All edges gilt (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Binder’s ticket of Leighton, Son & Hodge, London, to rear pastedown. 
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or toning- as shown). Early ownership inscription (“Caroline E. Newgwood”) to front blank. 
Illustrations: Illustrated with engraved frontispiece and numerous black-and-white illustrations by John Gilbert. Complete.

The book: This 1853 Routledge edition of Joan of Arc and Minor Poems presents one of Robert Southey’s most historically ambitious poetic works in a refined Victorian gift binding. The life and legend of Joan of Arc captured the Romantic imagination across Europe, and Southey’s poetic treatment blends historical narrative with moral and patriotic reflection. The present copy is elevated by its luxurious full morocco binding by Leighton, Son & Hodge, one of the leading London binderies of the Victorian period, transforming the volume into a collector’s object as much as a literary text.

The author: Robert Southey (1774–1843), Poet Laureate of England and a central figure of the Lake Poets alongside Wordsworth and Coleridge, was known for his historical epics and narrative poems. His Joan of Arc, first published in the late 18th century, reflects Romantic-era fascination with heroism, national identity, and medieval history.

The illustrator: John Gilbert (1817–1897) was one of the most important British illustrators of the 19th century. Renowned for his historical scenes, literary illustration, and work for major Victorian publications, Gilbert brought dramatic narrative clarity and strong character presence to illustrated editions of classic English literature.