Calvin University Copy
An 1859 second-edition copy in original blue cloth boards with a gilt sphinx, the spine in tan cloth; held by Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Binding Description
Original blue publisher’s cloth boards with a gilt sphinx in a stamped circular band, stamped borders, and corner ornaments. Tan cloth spine, apparently a later repair, hand-lettered “ROSETTA STONE” in white, with the call-number label PJ 1531 R3 1859; wear at the board edges. The rear board is not photographed.
Provenance Chain
Unrecorded earlier ownership → Calvin University — Hekman Library, Heritage Hall (Rare Books)
Provenance Narrative
No inscriptions, bookplates, or accession notes are recorded. Earlier ownership and the date and source of acquisition are unrecorded.
Copy Notes
The title bears red block-capital SECOND EDITION. A pasted J. W. Bouton, 706 Broadway, N.Y., catalog clipping, dated “188_” by hand, offers item 510, a large-paper copy in green morocco, at $17.50. It describes a different copy and does not establish that this one passed through Bouton. The catalog record notes “2d ed.,” “[160] leaves … 36 x 27 cm,” “Autographed and mounted,” and “Illuminated t.-p. and illustrations; gilt line borders”; the photographs do not show a signature or confirm mounted leaves.
Sources and Documentation
Four Heritage Hall copy photographs, October 2026; Calvin University catalog record. Catalog record ↗
Visual Record
Courtesy of Heritage Hall, Hekman Library, Calvin University.
