Christmastide: Its History, Festivities and Carols, by William Syndys, Illustrated, [1852].

Syndys, William. Christmastide: Its History, Festivities and Carols. London: John Russell Smith, [nd, 1852]. Illustrated with hand-colored engravings. Octavo. Bound in full brown polished calf with leather tooling to boards and spine, gilt titles and tooling to the spine. New archival slipcase with gilt candle stamp. 

Presented is an attractively bound printing of Christmastide: Its History, Festivities and Carols by William Synds. The book was published in 1852 in London by John Russell Smith. It is illustrated throughout with hand colored plates and numerous in-text vignettes and is beautifully bound in full brown polished calf leather with lovely Christmas-theme holly tooling and gilt titles to the spine. 

Christmastide is a collection of essays detailing the early traditions of Christmas in England. Syndys explores the earliest Christmas customs, from the monarchy to the landed gentry, all in great detail. He includes 42 carols, 12 printed tunes with music and text, and two plays, “A Mock Play” and “Christmas Play of St. George and the Dragon.” 

William Sandys (1792-1874) was a British antiquarian and writer. His first book, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, was published in 1833. The book was a compendium of historical and ancient carols he acquired and found through extensive research, and was published for the scholarly market. The book marked the first appearances of many now-classic English carols, including "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen", and "The First Noel",  and contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the holiday. His second book, Christmastide, was intended more for the popular market, with several of the most popular carols from his book set to music. 

Anyone interested in how the Christmas customs and songs we now practice and sing came to be, as well as the story behind many long forgotten, will find this book fascinating.

CONDITION:

Octavo. Bound in full brown polished calf with leather tooling to boards and spine, gilt titles and tooling to the spine. Gilt edge. Red ribbon page marker. Stunning hand colored illustrations throughout. Paper is healthy with only light toning. New archival cloth slipcase with gilt candle stamp.

Book Dimensions: 8" H x 5 5/8" W x 1" D

With Slipcase: 8 1/2" H x 5 3/4" W x 1 3/8" D