Album of 95 original detailed illustrations (drawings) of antique wrought iron door knockers (70 from Switzerland and 25 from Italy and France) by the English artist Arthur Elliot, titled by him 'A Book of Knockers'. With short essay by Elliot.

Elliot's illustrations, attractively executed in great detail, recall the style of those in the volumes produced by the publisher B. T. Batsford during the same period. All in excellent condition, the majority with tissue guards; album in good good condition. Fifty-eight of the illustrations, all of Swiss knockers, on paper ranging in size from 21 x 5 cm to 23.5 x 16 cm (the latter the majority), are laid down on the rectos of the first 45 leaves of a 47-leaf landscape folio album (leaf dimensions 36 x 16 cm). All have tissue guards. The album carries Elliot's red and black book plate, featuring a book on the pages of which he has written 'A Book of Knockers'. It contains beautiful detailed illustrations of Swiss knockers, almost all in pencil though a few in pen, each signed and captioned, some with the address of the knocker and others with the date of the illustration. The majority from Berne, others from cities such as Montreux and Lausanne. Loosely inserted in the album are a further fifteen illustrations, ranging from 11.5 x 9.5 cm, all but one in tissue guards, in a packet docketed 'Swiss wrought iron handles & knockers combined.' Also inserted are 22 illustrations, 11 x 6 cm to 24 x 15.5 cm, almost all with tissue guards, in a packet docketed 'Italian & French knockers & handles combined'. These illustrate knockers from such cities as Dijon, Pisa, Florence, Venice. Several of the loose illustrations annotated on the reverse by Elliot. Of a knocker to a house in Paris he writes: 'The concierge told me to be off as I had no right to sketch the Knocker even though it was visible from the street - so not feeling inclined to be driven of in such an arbitrary manner I determined to call for the proprietor. In due time I was ushered into his presence & he was most courteous showed me over the whole building, and gave me permission to draw what I liked.' Also loosely inserted are two copies, both in Elliot's hand, of an essay by him entitled 'Some wrought iron knockers'. Each is 4to, 1 p, and both have the text clear and complete on aged and creased paper. Elliot writes that, having been struck some years previously by the 'beauty and variety' of knockers in Berne, he was moved to start illustrating, spreading his net beyond the town. '[M]any of these Knockers which I then drew on the doors have now been taken off and placed for preservation in the museums.' He found bell-pulls instead of knockers in Fribourg, while in Berne he could not find a single bell-pull.' He concludes: 'I have grouped my examples in two sets, the first those designed on a straight bar the second those designed on a curved bar. '[A]s soon as brass came into use the design deteriorated.' Elliot was experienced and competent artist, whose illustrations of Canada in 1881 and 1882 are admired. He gives his address on the back of one of the illustrations as 14 Inverness Terrace, Hyde Park, London.