City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

Frances Theodora Parsons (1861-1952)
According to Season: Talks About the Flowers in the Order of Their Appearance in the Woods and Field
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1902 (New York: Trow Directory Printing and Bookbinding Co.)

Pale yellow, white, dark green, and gold on light green cloth.

Highly ornate and botanical, Armstrong's binding design reflects not only the content of this book about wildflowers, but also the illustrations found within. Her stylized flowers, with the ornate vines, and leaves, appear to show the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement.

This Library copy includes a date stamp showing the date of acquisition as April 11, 1902. This highlights the important point that while Armstrong’s bindings were notable and popular, they were also functional: these books were not collector’s items during this period. Rather, the beautiful binding designs existed to promote and sell a book. The Library purchased this book upon publication for circulation, not admiration.