{"product_id":"fors-clavigera-with-handwritten-ruskin-letter","title":"Fors Clavigera with Handwritten Ruskin Letter","description":"\u003cp\u003e6b John Ruskin. George Allen, Sunnyside, Orpington, Kent, 1875. Volume Five only. \u003cstrong\u003ePresentation copy to Agnes Stalker from Ruskin\u003c\/strong\u003e. Letter loosely inserted noting this book as a gift to a friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIGBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\n\u003cem class=\"eujQNb\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan class=\"wfWfIf fxyaSe\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"jAOkJc\" role=\"button\" id=\"\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjHzs_O88OUAxXPke4BHTikIsgQ3egRegYIAAgYEAE\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eFors Clavigera\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cspan class=\"wfWfIf fxyaSe\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"jAOkJc\" role=\"button\" id=\"\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjHzs_O88OUAxXPke4BHTikIsgQ3egRegYIAAgYEAI\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eJohn Ruskin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e’s sprawling, deeply personal, and highly radical series of monthly open letters addressed to the working-class citizens of Great Britain. Rather than a cohesive political treatise, the work functions as a brilliant, stream-of-consciousness critique of modern industrial capitalism, which Ruskin vehemently believed was destroying the human soul, eroding honest craftsmanship, and poisoning the natural environment. \u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\"\u003eVolume V\u003c\/span\u003e covers the year 1875 and is highly notable for its deeply pastoral and introspective turn. Within these letters, Ruskin masterfully blends heavy-hitting economic philosophy and critiques of usury with intimate observations on botany, medieval history, and local folklore. It is a foundational text outlining his utopian social experiment, the \u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\"\u003eGuild of St. George\u003c\/span\u003e, a project aimed at buying agricultural land to allow laborers to escape polluted factory cities and return to a life of rewarding, manual cultivation. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIGBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIGBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eThe inclusion of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\" style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eAgnes Stalker\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e as the recipient of this presentation copy elevates this specific book into the upper tier of Ruskiniana. In 1874 and 1875, while living at his beloved lakeside estate, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"wfWfIf fxyaSe\" style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"jAOkJc\" role=\"button\" id=\"\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjHzs_O88OUAxXPke4BHTikIsgQqdYPegYIAAgcEAE\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eBrantwood\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e, Ruskin formed a close, grandfatherly friendship with Agnes, a local child who lived on the surrounding Coniston moors. Fascinated by her sharp, uncorrupted curiosity about nature, Ruskin engaged in lengthy, playful debates with her regarding the behavior of the local insect population. In a famous sequence within Letters 50 and 51 (contained in this exact volume), Ruskin explicitly introduces \"little Agnes\" to his nationwide readership, using her intense interest in why bumblebees visited certain flowers over others to attack the rigid, unfeeling nature of modern academic education. The accompanying handwritten letter by Ruskin likely captures this warm, collaborative dynamic, cementing the book as a physical token of a real-life friendship that directly shaped Victorian literature. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIGBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIGBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eDescription\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIGBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIGBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eDeep blue calfskin with gilt lettering to spine and five raised bands. Sunfading to spine. Fading to points and general scuffing to boards.  Gilt edges. Marbled endpapers. Inscription dated July 6th 1885 on initial flyleaf. Handwritten letter to Edward loosely inserted noting this book as a birthday gift. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Moons Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56480820166822,"sku":null,"price":895.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0173\/6563\/1040\/files\/48F78709-D041-40B5-972C-D81A9ED9F08A.jpg?v=1779237369","url":"https:\/\/moons-rare-books.myshopify.com\/products\/fors-clavigera-with-handwritten-ruskin-letter","provider":"Moons Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}