For those interested in the works of the English writer, art critic, philosopher, artist, and all-around polymath John Ruskin (1819-1900), or in interesting antiquarian titles from the Victorian period, up for auction is a lot comprising five cloth-bound titles by Ruskin, ranging in date from 1866 to 1909 (two undated books may be a bit later). The oldest of the books, "Unto This Last": Four Essays on the First Principles of Political Economy, is an 1866 ex-library title (from the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts), while Sesame and Lilies: Three Lectures, is the next oldest title, from 1880. A lovely illustrated fairy tale, The King of the Golden River, is a "Golden Classic" from Rand McNally & Company, Chicago, and features handsome illustrations by J. C. Johansen (John Christen Johansen, a Danish-American painter), and the two remaining books are copies of The Crown of Wild Olive, published by Thomas Y. Crowell, New York; both are the same compact size and have the same layout but with different cloth bindings, one an ornate one from Decorative Designers of New York (signed with its distinctive "DD" monogram on the front board; see 16th and 17th photos uploaded); both contain four Ruskin lectures, on Work, Traffic, War, and the Future of England (these two are undated but likely from around the first decade of the 20th century).

Here are brief descriptions of the five titles, which are arranged in chronological order, more or less, with the two undated copies of The Crown of Wild Olive at the end:

• "Unto This Last": Four Essays on the First Principles of Political Economy, published in 1866 by John Wiley & Son, 535 Broadway, New York. 5 inches wide by 8 inches high; 138 pages; pebbled brown-cloth binding with decorative blind-embossed border on front and rear boards; spine extensively damaged, with loss, etc. Ex-library copy, from Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts, with bookplate (reading "The Gift of / HENRY P. FIELD / 1937"), due-date sheet, red-inked "WITHDRAWN" stamp on library card sleeve on rear pastedown, and numerous other library markings, additions, etc. Lightly penciled name on front free end page, reading "Thos. P. Field." Extensive penciled underlining throughout book. This may very well be an unstated first (and certainly an early) American edition of this title, which was first published in the U.K. in 1860. It's also one of two books I'm selling that was published during Ruskin's lifetime, the other being Sesame and Lilies (though the copy I'm selling was published in 1880, and its first publication was in 1865, so it's definitely a later edition). Titles of four essays within are: The Roots of Honour, The Veins of Wealth, Qui Judicatis Terram, and Ad Valorem.
• Sesame and Liles: Three Lectures, stated "Revised and Enlarged Edition" published in 1880 by John Wiley & Sons, 15 Astor Place, New York [note earlier book's publisher John Wiley had only one son and was located at a different New York address]. 5 inches wide by 7-3/4 inches high; 170 pages, plus 42 roman-numeral-paginated pages of front matter and lengthy Preface; gilt-titled and -decorated brown cloth binding, extensively rubbed, smudged, spotted, and worn. Dark brown end pages, with considerably later bookplate on front pastedown, old bookmark from Ridley Park Public Library laid in (located, I believe, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania), and former owner's name and 1883 inscription penciled on second page after front free end page. Some red and regular graphite pencil underlining on a couple pages in book. Title of three essays within are: Of King's Treasuries, Of Queens' Gardens, and Of the Mystery of Life.
• The King of the Golden River, published by Rand McNally & Company, Chicago and New York, likely in or soon after 1909, the copyright date (copyright held by Rand McNally); one of the publisher's "Golden Classics."4-3/4 inches wide by 7-1/2 inches high; 75 pages; gilt-titled (on front board only) pebbled red-cloth binding (no titling on spine, which is quite rubbed, however, so perhaps there was something there originally). Opposite the glossy frontispiece photograph of the author, the decorated and two-color (gold and black) title page reads in part "THE KING OF THE / GOLDEN RIVER / OR / THE BLACK BROTHERS / A LEGEND OF STIRIA / BY / JOHN RUSKIN." The caption under Ruskin's image, by the way, contains a major error, stating the author is "One of the foremost writers and critics of the Eighteenth Century," though of course it should be "Nineteenth Century" (oops). Illustrations within are by J. C. Johansen (almost certainly the Danish-American artist John Christen Johansen, 1876-1964), whose signature appears on at least three of the images, and the year 1902 is on at least one of them. Owner's signature, Helen Buckley, written on front free end page. Besides the fairy tale, book includes an Introduction to the Series (that is, Rand McNally's "Golden Classics"), a "Biographical Sketch" of the author; information on "St. George's Guild" (it appears to be its eight-part oath); and a "Reading List." 
• Crown of Wild Olive, published by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 46 East Fourteenth Street, New York (no year of publication listed). 4 inches wide by 6 inches high; 190 pages, including an Introduction at the front and an Appendix at the back, plus a glossy frontispiece portrait of Ruskin separated from title page by a tissue guard. The title page reads: "THE / CROWN OF WILD OLIVE. / Four Lectures / ON / WORK, TRAFFIC, WAR, / AND / THE FUTURE OF ENGLAND. / BY / JOHN RUSKIN, M. A." Ornate light green, pale pink, and black decorated cloth binding, with floral design on front and rear boards and spine and with gilt titling on the spine and front board, which has a pastedown image of the author at the top left and at the bottom right what appears to be the Decorative Designers interlocked "DD" monogram / design, with the second "D" backwards (see 17th photo uploaded for close-up of "DD"). 
• Crown of Wild Olive, published by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York (no year of publication listed). 4 inches wide by 6 inches high; 190 pages, including an Introduction at the front and an Appendix at the back, plus a glossy frontispiece portrait of Ruskin separated from the title page by a tissue guard. The title page reads: "THE / CROWN OF WILD OLIVE. / Four Lectures / ON / WORK, TRAFFIC, WAR, / AND / THE FUTURE OF ENGLAND. / BY / JOHN RUSKIN, M. A." Solid moss green cloth binding with gilt-titled and -decorated leather band at the spine, continuing onto the right of the rear board and left of the front board.  

I don't think I need to include more than the lengthy introductory section to the editor John Ruskin's Wikipedia entry, which reads:

John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic, and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany, and political economy.

Ruskin was heavily engaged by the work of Viollet le Duc, which he taught to all his pupils including William Morris, notably Viollet le Duc's Dictionary which he considered as "the only book of any value on architecture."

Ruskin's writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. He wrote essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters, and even a fairy tale. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, architectural structures and ornamentation. The elaborate style that characterized his earliest writing on art gave way in time to plainer language designed to communicate his ideas more effectively. In all of his writing, he emphasized the connections between nature, art, and society.

Ruskin was hugely influential in the latter half of the 19th century and up to the First World War. After a period of relative decline, his reputation has steadily improved since the 1960s with the publication of numerous academic studies of his work. Today, his ideas and concerns are widely recognized as having anticipated interest in environmentalism, sustainability, and craft.

Ruskin first came to widespread attention with the first volume of Modern Painters (1843), an extended essay in defense of the work of J. M. Turner in which he argued that the principal role of the artist is "truth to nature." From the 1850s, he championed the Pre-Raphaelites, who were influenced by his ideas. His work increasingly focused on social and political issues. Unto This Last (1860, 1862) marked the shift in emphasis. In 1869, Ruskin became the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford, where he established the Ruskin School of Drawing. In 1871, he began his monthly "letters to the workmen and labourers of Great Britain," published under the title Fors Clavigera (1871–1884). In the course of this complex and deeply personal work, he developed the principles underlying his ideal society. As a result, he founded the Guild of St. George, an organization that endures today.

The overall condition of these five (5) cloth-bound antiquarian books ranges from poor to good. There's corner-bumping, edgewear, spotting, smudging, cloth loss (especially on the spines of the two oldest books), etc., on the titles, with the ex-library book of essays, Unto This Last, in the worst condition (in the form of, among other things, a white call number inked on the left side of the front board, extensive library additions and markings throughout, and much penciled underlining on the text pages). As far as I could tell, there appear to be no clipped or missing pages in any of the books, all of which have age-toned / darkened pages, with some corner bends, spotting, smudging, staining, small tears, wrinkling / rippling, etc., here and there. The illustrated fairy tale, The King of the Golden River, is in fine shape, with all its lovely black-and-white illustrations by J. C. Johansen intact. The names or former owners are written in three of the books (Unto This Last, The King of the Golden River, and Sesame and Lilies, the latter of which also has a bookplate on the dark brown-hued front pastedown (this title also has a few pages of underlining in it, in red as well as graphite pencil). The books have neither a musty or smoky odor to them. Please note that I did not look closely at each and every page in the five titles and may have missed some major flaw or damage.

This lot of books comprising five antiquarian titles by John Ruskin is being sold AS IS, AS DESCRIBED ABOVE AND PICTURED WITHIN. I am setting what I feel is a reasonable starting price for the auction, and there is NO RESERVE. I am also including a Buy It Now price for the lot.

Shipping and handling for the books: $7 to U.S. addresses (via Media Mail).

Note that eBay has now instituted a shipping program whereby bidders from outside the U.S. can bid on or buy all sellers' items, and the seller sends everything to an eBay facility in the US for shipping. So far, this seems to be working out well (though one item bought by someone in China never made it to its destination, though eBay very quickly refunded the buyer).  

If you want these books sent more quickly to you (e.g., via Priority Mail in the U.S.), you must request this asap after winning or purchasing them (or beforehand, if possible), and I will adjust the amount accordingly.

I will do my best to send the books out to you no more than 2-3 business days following receipt of payment (that is, when eBay informs me that your payment has been posted to or otherwise cleared in my account). 

If you are the winner or buyer of these five antiquarian John Ruskin titles, PAYMENT IS EXPECTED WITHIN ONE WEEK (7 DAYS) FROM THE PURCHASE DATE. If you cannot pay within this time frame, PLEASE contact me asap so we can work something out. I'm very flexible and understanding, but I would appreciate communication from you one way or another.

PLEASE NOTE THAT RETURNS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED NOR REFUNDS MADE FOR THESE BOOKS, SO PLEASE READ MY DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY, LOOK CLOSELY AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS I’VE UPLOADED, AND ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT THE CONTENTS OR CONDITION OF THE TITLES. THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!

Thanks for looking, and please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions about these five John Ruskin books: "Unto This Last": Four Essays on the First Principles of Political Economy, Sesame and Lilies: Three Lectures, the fairy tale The King of the Golden River (featuring illustration by John Christen Johansen), and two copies of The Crown of Wild Olive, one with a lovely binding design by Decorative Designers of New York. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL HAPPILY ADJUST SHIPPING CHARGES FOR MULTIPLE PURCHASES!!! THIS DOES NOT, HOWEVER, APPLY TO PURCHASES MADE BY THOSE OUTSIDE THE U.S. USING eBAY'S GLOBAL SHIPPING PROGRAM.

ALSO, PLEASE NOTE THAT, IF APPLICABLE, eBAY WILL ADD ANY APPROPRIATE STATE SALES TAX TO THE INVOICE.