Good, cover is scuffed to its edges, particularly the outside corners, which have some loss of surface material. The straight spine has surface scuffs, but the lettering is unfaded and clearly legible, and the connection to the inside is secure. The inside cover gutters are reinforced. The binding is secure throughout the book, with no loose or missing pages. The only writing is a brief gift notation to the decorative front end page. There is an enclosed, unattached letter referring to the gift, but no other writing to the pages. There are no stamps or other attachments. There are recurrent light stains, mostly foxing, but the extensive text introduction and the many illustrations are unfaded and clearly legible. The tissue guards, for the color illustrations, are in place and in good condition. There are no page tears or notable creases.