8vo (170 x 104 mm). Half-title, 8pp. publisher's advertisements at the end dated December 1859. (Slight marginal toning, some light occasional spotting.) 20th-century brown crushed levant, sides gilt-decorated with geometric and foliate tooled-design, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, gilt-lettered in one, the rest gilt-decorated, top edge gilt, others uncut, turn-ins gilt, purple watered silk endleaves, stamp-signed by the Booklover's Shop, Cleveland (spine lightly sunned, covers detaching, a touch of light wear to extremities).

FIRST EDITION of Tennyson's 12-cycle narrative poem retelling the legend of King Arthur. Bound by The Booklover's Shop in Cleveland, which was in operation from 1914-1917 and was the successor to The Club Bindery founded in 1895 by Grolier Club, which it became in 1914. It had previously been called the Rowfant Bindery (1909-1913) and was known as The French Binders from 1918 to the 1920s.