neat-bound

Updated: July 19, 2026

To be strong-backed and neat-bound is the desideratum of a volume. Magnificence comes after. This, when it can be afforded, is not to be lavished upon all kinds of books indiscriminately. I would not dress a set of Magazines, for instance, in full suit. The possession of them confers no distinction. Who would have them a whit less soiled? What better condition could we desire to see them in?

Charles Lamb - The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 : Elia and The Last Essays of Elia