… we give you ten gems from a Bibliography of Rudyard Kipling.
"Ten Gems" as in Ten Gems from Kipling, a collection of ten stories from Kipling. It is featured in an entry in this rather thorough bibliography of the author.
Interestingly enough, this book was given as a Christmas gift in 1927 from Flora Livingston (the author) to someone who may have also been a Kipling enthusiast.
What's also interesting about this book is the gilt top edge. While very pretty and eye-catching in itself, gilding the pages of a book (applying gold powder or leaf, or in some cases gold-colored paint to the edges of the page and sometimes the covers and spine as well) serves a practical purpose too. When the gold powder is applied with glue it helps to protect the pages from dust, moisture, and browning.
Pretty and practical. Check back tomorrow for more pretty and practical gift books in our 12 Days of Christmas in July series.