Bidspirit auction | Late 19th Century Around the

Late 19th Century Around the World Promotional Accordion-Fold Souvenir Book for J. W. Carroll by The E. P. Best Mfg. Co. - An antique late 19th-century promotional souvenir book in an accordion-fold (leporello) format titled Around the World. The item was manufactured by The E. P. Best Mfg. Co. of New Haven, Connecticut, as indicated by a small printed line of text at the bottom edge of the back cover: The E. P. Best Mfg. Co., New Haven, Conn. The front cover features a lithographed design in red and grey, showcasing the title Around the World in a diagonal banner between a cliffside castle scene and a desert scene with figures and camels. The back cover serves as a trade card advertisement for a clothing retailer. It is framed by a red printed border with floral motifs and contains centered black text that reads: FROM J. W. CARROLL, MANUFACTURER OF Fine Custom and Ready-Made CLOTHING, Hats, Caps and Men's Fur- nishing Goods, 111, 113 and 115 Railroad Avenue, ELMIRA, N. Y. It also lists locations at No. 125 Main St., Hornellsville, N. Y., Athens, Pa., and Knoxville, Pa. The interior consists of multiple connected cardstock panels that unfold to reveal monochrome lithographic views of international cities and landmarks. The illustrations include captions in English, French, and German. Notable views include London From the Thames, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Brooklyn Bridge, Melbourne, Sydney, Madrid The Royal Castle, Escorial, Lissabon (Lisbon), Roma The Fort Adrian, Napoli (Naples), Firenze (Florence), Bern, Luzern, Thun, Bruxelles (Brussels) The Exchange, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, St. Petersbourg, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Teheran, Peking (Beijing) The Emperors Palace, Mexico City The Cathedrale, and Rio de Janeiro. The item is in fair to good condition, consistent with its age as an 1890s ephemeral piece. The covers show significant chipping and paper loss along the edges and corners (photos 1 and 2). The left spine edge of the front cover displays substantial paper loss and partial separation from the interior panels (photo 1). The interior paper panels exhibit light foxing, age-related toning, and minor creasing along the vertical fold lines (photos 3 and 7). A small tear is visible at the top edge of the fold between the second and third interior panels (photo 4). The accordion structure remains intact.