The Colour of London Book, 1914 Illustrated London History and City Guide

Published in 1914 by Chatto and Windus, The Colour of London blends W. J. Loftie’s engaging city history with Yoshio Markino’s atmospheric color plates. Loftie walks readers through churches, squares, and river scenes while Markino paints London as it looked and felt in the early twentieth century. The book belongs to the Edwardian wave of richly illustrated city portraits and reflects a moment of Anglo Japanese exchange, with Markino’s essay describing how he captured London’s night light, mist, and rain. This copy retains the striking publisher’s tan pictorial cloth showing the silhouette of St Paul’s Cathedral with Markino’s name and Japanese characters on the front board.

[d]Author | W. J. Loftie [d]Illustrator | Yoshio Markino [d]Title | The Colour of London [d]Publisher | Chatto and Windus [d]Date | 1914 [d]Binding | Publisher's original tan pictorial cloth [d]Origin | England [d]Language | English

[condition] Good and sound overall with honest shelf wear throughout. The pictorial cloth shows rubbing and light soiling consistent with age, the spine toned and with fraying at head and tail. Corner bumps are mild. Endpapers are toned and carry an old Free Public Library Bayonne N J stamp as well as a small numerical stamp to the introduction leaf. Hinges show age toning but remain secure. Text pages are clean for their age with occasional handling marks. Color plates are bright where checked. Page edges lightly dusted. A solid reading and display copy with a straightforward library provenance.