The @librarycompany‘s post of a stunning mother-of-pearl binding on a nineteenth-century gift book rang a bell for me earlier today. There was something familiar about it that I couldn’t quite place… 

That thought of course sent me to the catalog, where I discovered that Mizzou has an 1851 volume of the same title.  I scurried off to the stacks, where to my surprise and delight, I found that Mizzou’s volume of The Keepsake has a similar papier mâché binding with a floral design.  Sadly, it’s not in the best condition - the spine is missing, and some added pigment is chipping off the mother-of-pearl inlays. But it’s a rare find for us, since the binding isn’t noted in the catalog record (Edit: It is now!).  I suspect (but I don’t know for sure) that it’s the only one of its kind in the collections here. 

I love it when Tumblr leads us to make discoveries in the collections we work with every day. Thanks for posting your copy, @librarycompany! 

- Kelli

The Keepsake : a gift for the holidays. New York : J. C. Riker, 18-  MU Ellis Special Collections Rare AY11 .K25  1851