1897 Field and Hedgegrow | St. Andrew's School Fine Prize Binding

Field and Hedgegrow being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies, printed by Ballyntyne, Hanson, & Co. Published 1897. Prize Binding bookplate: St. Andrew's School, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, England, awarded to J.R. Guild, Prize for English, signed by the school's Senior Master and Principal, dated July 1901. 

Full green leather binding, spine is split by 5 raised bands into six individual panels, each intricately hand-stamped with uniform, mirroring floral and foliate gold scrollwork.The front and back covers feature a flourish-tooled borderwork in gold and a gilt-stamped coat of arms and heraldic crest of the historic Grace family, traditional Anglo-Norman lords settled in Ireland since the 12th century. The Norman-French motto stamped on the banner reads: "EN GRACE AFFIE", which translates to "On Grace, Depend". All page edges marbled in a blue, yellow, black, orange, and red colorway. The interior features dentelle on turn-ins, vibrant marbled endpapers.

It was common practice for English private schools to adopt, incorporate, or honor the armorial bearings of local aristocratic patrons, founding benefactors, or landowners as their official school emblem. The school used this coat of arms as its graphic identity on both its internal paper certificates and the exterior gold tooling. 

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