1895 The Heroes: Greek Fairy Tales | Prize Binding & Ex Libris

The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for My Children, by Charles Kingsley. Printed by Macmillan, London, England. Published 1856. English Language.

A collection of adapted stories brought to life with poetic prose while emphasizing Victorian virtues, the book covers the stories of Perseus, the Argonauts, and Theseus. 

A tree-calf leather prize binding from St. Christopher's School in Eastbourne, England. Front cover features the school's institutional crest in gold with the Latin phrase Honoris Causa (For the sake of honor, or To honor merit), five raised bands on the spine, gold tooled border work on the front and back covers, floral decorations on the spine, all page edges marbled, vibrant blue marbled endpapers, Ex Libris, inscription dated 1896, several illustrations. 

The Ex Libris (bookplate) was a custom design for Fulke Knachbull Prideaux-Brune, who was the eldest son and heir of Colonel Charles Robert Prideaux-Brune. His family owned Prideaux Place in Padstow, Cornwall, a famously grand Elizabethan manor house in England. 

The custom artwork on his bookplate shows a sailboat charting coastal waters near rocky cliffs, likely an homage to his family's ancestral seat.

The handwritten inscription reads: "F. Prideaux Brune. Prize Form I. July, 1896. G. Townsend Oldham. Warden." 

"Form I" indicates the school's youngest class. In July 1896, Fulke Prideaux-Brune would have just completed his first academic year after turning 9. This book was his reward for topping his class.

The signature at the bottom belongs to G. Townsend Oldham (George Townsend Oldham), the founding Headmaster and "Warden" of St. Christopher’s School in Eastbourne. 

130 mm W x 190 mm H. 218 pages.

Condition: Some faint marks on the front cover, wear to the hinges, wear to the bottom edge of the spine, and a small tear on page 30. Excellent to very good condition. 

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