Williamson, Emma S. The Book of Beauty (late Victorian Era): A Collection of Beautiful Portraits with Literary, Artistic, and Musical Contributions by Men and Women of the Day. London: Hutchinson & Co, 1896.

The Book of Beauty is a large gold encrusted text that includes portraits of England’s perception of beauty and what is not beauty. This text also includes one or two page introductions to the actual picture. The Book of Beauty is 39 mm by 30 mm. It weighs about ten pounds and is too large to leave the home. The front of the bind and the back of the bind has the same elaborate gold design on a black leather binding. There is a plane leather spot of the front that looks like the title belongs there. However, the title is stamped on the spine. Like Vanity Fair, The Book of Beauty has five raises leather separations on the spine for decoration. This could be a new binding or a binding that mocked an old design.

Many exerts are inspiration and include the message of hope. My favorite quote in this text is “No Man is lost who has not lost his hope.”  I believe this message represents the people of England in a very positive manner and brings me to believe this was the type of message Queen Victoria heard as a child. Many pictures in this text that were “not beautiful” were too modern for their time period. Woman who showed too much skin were provocative and labeled not beautiful.