Nature

Edition C of "Nature," with matching envelope
Edition A of Nature, in green paper with matching envelope

Nature is a booklet of quotations in the Mosaic Essays series, compiled by Paul Elder. It was published in 1903 along with Happiness and Success in response to the success of 1902’s Friendship. In 1905, Elder published the last booklet in the series, Love. In 1906, he gathered the five booklets togther in a single volume called Mosaic Essays.

As with the other booklets in the series, Nature was published in multiple bindings:

  • Edition A: bound in flexible Kozak sultan. Enclosed in uniform envelope. Price, 50 cents [“sultan” is a deep red color, and “Kozak” (i.e. Khazak) is likely just a word Elder added for a flair of the exotic.]
  • Edition B: bound in flexible suede. Enclosed in box. Price, $1.25
  • Edition C: bound in full white calf by Miss Crane. Price, $5.00

The frontispiece is “In the Heart of the Woods,” from the painting by William Keith.

Title page of "Nature"
Frontispiece and title page of Nature, Edition A

I have examples of both Nature and Happiness in green instead of red “sultan.” Perhaps this green color is what Elder meant by “Kozak sultan”?

Pages 8-9 of "Nature"
Pages 8-9 of Nature, Edition A
Leather edition of "Nature"
Edition B of Nature, with suede cover
Edition C of Nature, “bound in full white calf by Miss Crane,” partially obscured by a picture frame, displayed in a bookcase in the Central Art Room in Elder’s shop at 238 Post, 1904 (Collection of Jean Rodgers)
Leather binding of Nature, seen online in the mid-2000s. This may not be an Elder binding.