Sesame and lilies.

Three lectures by John Ruskin. Sunnyside, Orpington and London : George Allen, [1898]. Thirteenth complete edition. Octavo (185 x 125 mm), in a prize binding of the Caulfield Grammar School (Melbourne) of full blue calf, boards with ornament gilt border and school crest in gilt to upper board, spine in compartments with gilt ornament and contrasting title-piece lettered in gilt; marbled edges, pastedowns and endpapers; front pastedown with the school’s prize certificate awarded to A. E. Etheridge (Form IV A) for First in Geography, Drawing and Science (Christmas 1925); pp. xxxvi, [2], 238; clean and bright throughout.

Sesame and lilies is one of art historian and philosopher John Ruskin’s most popular works. It comprises the text of three lectures exploring themes such as reading practice, public education, and the cultural value of literature; the role of women, their rights and duties in education and the household; and the role of the arts in society.