Victoria. A handsome and practical album for Victorian cabinet cards and cdvs

OUR QUEEN & COUNTRY 1837 – 1887. Marcus Ward & Co Limited [Belfast] 1888 4to [12 x 9 ins].

The very sturdy leather bound album has 18 thick card leaves with apertures on both sides, all edges gilt and the whole 2 ins thick. The corners are metal bound for protection and there is a simple but effective closing system. The Irish company who produced this was well known for high quality lithography and each page is decorated with appropriate scenes, including views of palaces, London, soldiers, ships, etc. There are 28 apertures for cabinet cards and 32 for cartes de visite. Some of the apertures allow for oval views of the cards, which was fashionable at the time. There are ten original cabinet card portraits of the Queen included in the album, which is in very good condition with just a few areas of damage where cards have been carelessly removed or inserted. There are three small nails protruding from the rear of the fastening where there appears to have been some additional metal work: these could be filed off [a picture shows this]. This is a much more useable album than many which we see and perfect for the collector of Victorian royalty, etc.      jul25/3