Carved Wooden Cover to 'The Herschel Album'

Carved wooden cover of the 'Herschel Album'. Handwritten dedication by Julia Margaret Cameron on reverse of cover, 'To / Sir John F H Hershel / from his Friend / Julia Margaret Cameron / With a grateful / memory of 27 years / of friendship / Fresh Water Bay / Isle of Wight / Nov 26th 1864 / Sept 8th 1867 / completed & ... with renewed / devotedness of grateful friendship'. The album was created by Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) in 1864. She presented it to her friend Sir John Herschel (1792-1871). Some prints were added at a later date. The 'Herschel Album' consists of 94 albumen photographs, with a full contents list of titles. Most prints have a title and date handwritten by Cameron. She produced approximately a dozen bound albums which she presented as gifts to her friends and sisters.