1868. 12mo, pp. 188, [4] publisher’s advertisements; lightly browned throughout with some occasional foxing; original green morocco backed Mauchline ware wooden boards, ‘Made of Birman Wood’, all edges gilt, with gilt tooled turn ins and moiréd endpapers, transfer of the Pass of Killicrankie on upper cover, with verse from Macbeth on rear cover, head and tail of spine nicked with minor loss, both lower corners slightly chipped, with some minor surface scuffing; still an appealing copy. An appealing example of a Scottish souvenir Mauchline Ware binding. Mauchline, located 11 miles inland from the Scottish coastal resort of Ayr and for some time the home of Robert Burns, was the centre of the industry, which at its peak in the 1860s, employed over 400 people in the manufacture of small, but always beautifully made and invariably useful wooden souvenirs and gift ware. Views of Scotland dominated the transfer ware. "Burnsian" views, by far, formed the largest single grouping and views associated with Sir Walter Scott probably the second. In addition to virtually every town and village, producers immortalized a great number of beauty spots, country houses, churches, schools, ruins and even cottage hospitals in transfer ware. The Isle of Wight was particularly popular, probably due to Victoria's love of the place. The industry flourished for 160 years and during that period hundreds of thousands of high quality wood ware souvenirs were despatched around the world and were much favoured by affluent Victorian travellers.
The present example appeals to both lovers of music and Shakespeare - the binding apparently ‘made of Birnam Wood’, and includes three lines from Act 5 of Macbeth: ‘As I did stand my watch upon the hill, I looked towards Birnam, and anon me thought the wood began to more’. The cover is also signed ‘Anderson, Bookseller, Dunkeld’.