[Calligraphic mss] Dibdin, Edward Rimbault. Sir Anthony Van Dyck, 1599-1641.

Dibdin, Edward Rimbault. Sir Anthony Van Dyck, 1599-1641. [Calligraphic manuscript]. Though this appears to be Dibdin's full notes for his lecture on Van Dyck, he is fashioned it into a striking manuscript in black & red pen. The illustrated title page and Arts & Crafts-influenced opening initial are especially interesting, but a large amount of initials (of varying sizes & complexity) are included throughout, making this volume far more than mere notes for a lecture. Bound in dark blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Some rubbing and spots to covers. 

Included at rear is a page of the locations Dibdin gave this lecture (with dates), including the Birkenhead Art Club, Liverpool Artists Club, etc. Dibdin's bookplate on front pastedown, and signature on ffep (dated 1910). Loosely inserted is a card reading "To dearest Iris with love & best wishes from Aunt Lana, May 1944 / In memory of dear Uncle Edward".

A beautiful example of an Arts & Crafts-era manuscript.

"Edward Rimbault Dibdin (1853-1941), curator and writer, was born in Edinburgh in 1853 to Henry Edward Dibdin and Isabella Perkins Palmer. E. R. Dibdin studied art at Edinburgh College of Art (known at that time as the Royal Institution) and worked as the art critic for the Liverpool Courier newspaper from 1887 to 1904. He was appointed as curator of the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool in 1904 and served in that position until 1918. E. R. Dibdin published several books on art, photography, and music. Keenly interested in the history of his family, E. R. Dibdin collected materials about the Dibdins, gave lectures on their history, and published works about his ancestors, notably A Charles Dibdin Bibliography, published in 1938. He was married three times and had six children. Edward Rimbault Dibdin died of illness in 1941" (Harry Ransom Center).