The illustrations I venture to commend, for few of them are the work of my hand. They have at least one great merit, that of being scrupulously accurate.
Allusion is made in the text to Mr. Tarbolton’s valuable contribution. There is a fine drawing by Mr. F. E. Cox; while Mr. E. M. Cox contributes a whole series, the merits of which speak for themselves. The Three Kings, the Bell, and the Boar’s Head may be named as specimens. Mr. Fletcher did the charming little sketch of an inscription formerly over the entrance to Bagnigge Wells, with its grotesque head; and the editors of the Strand Magazine and the Builder have allowed me the use of blocks from their respective publications.
In conclusion, let me express a hope that the kind reader will not class this volume in the category of ‘books which are no books,’ as Charles Lamb puts it, or even as one ‘which no gentleman’s library should be without,’ but that he will find here some useful and curious information, put together in a form sufficiently agreeable to make him wish for more.
CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER I. | |
| PAGE | |
| HUMAN SIGNS | [1] |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| THREE KINGS—ASTRONOMICAL SIGNS | [26] |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| ANIMALS REAL AND IMAGINARY | [46] |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| ANIMALS REAL AND IMAGINARY (continued) | [67] |
| CHAPTER V. | |
| BIRDS AND OTHER SCULPTURED SIGNS | [89] |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
| VARIOUS CRESTS AND COATS OF ARMS | [121] |
| CHAPTER VII. | |
| MISCELLANEOUS SIGNS, DATES, AND INSCRIPTIONS, ETC. | [156] |
| CHAPTER VIII. | |
| A FEW SUBURBAN SPAS | [180] |
| CHAPTER IX. | |
| TWO OLD CITY MANSIONS | [200] |
