WILDE, Oscar; [Lord Alfred DOUGLAS (<i>translator<i>); Aubrey BEARDSLEY (<i>illustrator<i>)].Biblio.com
303 résultats
189421246961894. London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane. 1894. Small 4to. Original blue-green woven cloth gilt designs after Beardsley blocked to boards spine lettered in gilt fore- and tail-edges uncut; pp. x 67 1 14 advertisements 2 10 plates including frontispiece illustrated title-page contents page and tailpiece by Aubrey Beardsley printed on glazed paper from line blocks engraved by Carl Hentschel; a few chips to joints and corners small loss to head of spine affecting 2 letters of gilt text spine sunned; internally very clean; a very good copy; bookplate of William Forbes Morgan 1841-1916 to front pastedown.First English edition of Wilde's one-act tragedy the first with Beardsley's illustrations four of which contain caricatures of Oscar Wilde one of only 500 copies translated by and dedicated to Wilde's lover Lord Alfred Douglas.Salome was written in French in late 1891 while Wilde was staying in Paris and accepted for production by Sarah Bernhardt at the London Opera House in 1892. However the Lord Chamberlain prohibited performances because of a ban on Biblical figures being presented on stage an outcome that understandably incensed Wilde. It was finally published in French in 1893 and then in this translation in 1894. Translating the nuances of Wilde's original text written in an idiosyncratic French has been acknowledged as a Herculean task by all those who have attempted it including Beardsley. Even though Wilde himself assisted Douglas the author and the translator nearly came to blows: 'Wilde immediately complained of Douglas's sloppy schoolboy French and an infuriated Douglas blamed any faults upon the original. He and Wilde nearly split over the disagreements and Robbie Ross - doubtless to his later regret - made peace between them that Fall' Daniel. Though Wilde tried to fix some of the errors Douglas raged when he did and wrote to the publishers that September 'as I cannot consent to have my work altered and edited and thus to become a mere machine for doing the rough work of translation I have decided to relinquish the affair altogether.' Daniel. Nevertheless their relationship recovered and the translation has since become the text most familiar to Anglophone audiences. Steven Berkoff used the Douglas translation for his critically acclaimed Salome at the National Theatre in 1988 with all its archaisms and errors unabridged.Sadly Wilde never saw the play produced. Its only performance during his lifetime was a one-off presentation at the Theatre de la Comedie-Parisienne on 11 February 1896 by which time he was already in prison. It was not performed publicly in Britain until 1931.Mason 350; Ross 'Later Work' 86; Samuels Lasner 59. See Daniel 'Lost In Translation: Oscar Bosie and Salome' Princeton University Library Chronicle 2007. hardcover
1894282902London: John Lane 1894. Limited. hardcover. very good. Tall 8vo lavender cloth faded to tan with gilt designs considerably browned on the spine and edges; pages untrimmed London: John Lane 1894. Limited First Edition.<br/><br/> Mason 365. One of only 50 copies printed simultaneously with the first trade edition. Internally fine and clean.<br/><br/> John Lane unknown books
1894282902London: John Lane 1894. Limited. hardcover. very good. Tall 8vo lavender cloth faded to tan with gilt designs considerably browned on the spine and edges; pages untrimmed London: John Lane 1894. Limited First Edition.<br/> <br/> Mason 365. One of only 50 copies printed simultaneously with the first trade edition. Internally fine and clean.<br/> <br/> John Lane unknown
1898282548London: Smithers 1898. First. hardcover. very good. Slim 8vo mustard cloth backed in white with gilt lettering. London: Leonard Smithers 1898. Limited First Edition.<br/> <br/> One of 800 copies printed on hand-made paper on one side only. Inscribed on title page; "I.O. from F.A.S. Guilsborough Hall." A very good copy with some bubbling of the cloth and light soil. Irene Osgood later the wife of R.H. Sherard author of the life of Oscar Wilde was a novelist. This book was given to her by Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham Preserved in an attractive1/4 leather slipcase with an elaborately gilt spine.<br/> <br/> Smithers unknown
1894185053London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane 1894. A sublime production by the enfants terribles of Victorian Britain First edition in English the first to feature Beardsley's elegant art nouveau illustrations. "If Le Morte Darthur made Beardsley known his designs for the first edition in English of Wilde's Salomé made him notorious and it remains the book of which most people think when his name is mentioned" Ray. Salomé was published in French in 1893. This English translation by Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas was published the following year in a run of 500 trade copies as here and 100 on large paper. The premiere took place on 11 February 1896 at the Comédie-Parisienne; the Lord Chamberlain cited Protestant Reformation laws banning religious plays to restrict the public staging in Britain. An opera version was sanctioned for performance in 1910 though the play itself had to be staged privately until the first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in 1931. Small quarto. Frontispiece illustrated title list of illustrations pages 9 plates and tailpiece all by Beardsley; publisher's unopened 16-page advertisements at end. Original blue canvas boards spine lettered in gilt decorations designed by Beardsley to covers in gilt edges untrimmed. Cloth slightly rubbed gutter cracked between a couple of gatherings a couple of plates discreetly reinserted. A very good copy. Mason 350; Ray 315A. hardcover
1888170816London: David Nutt 1888. If you want a red rose. you must build it out of music by moonlight and stain it with your own heart's-blood First edition of Wilde's first and best-known collection of children's stories including "The Selfish Giant" "The Nightingale and the Rose" "The Devoted Friend" and "The Remarkable Rocket". Wilde's "reputation as an author dated from the publication of the Happy Prince and Other Tales in London in May 1888. The Athenaeum compared him to Hans Christian Andersen and Pater wrote to say that 'The Selfish Giant' was 'perfect in its kind' and the whole book written in 'pure English' - a wonderful compliment" Ellmann p. 282. Small quarto. Frontispiece with tissue guard and 2 plates by Walter Crane 12 head- and tailpieces by Jacomb Hood. Original cream paper-covered boards spine lettered in black front cover lettered in red with vignette design in black and publisher's device in red. Head of spine lightly worn boards rubbed a couple of bumps to extremities short split to front inner hinge endpapers and outer leaves lightly foxed contents otherwise clean and unmarked. A very good copy of this fragile production. Mason 313 "1000 copies". Richard Ellmann Oscar Wilde 1987. hardcover
1894140949078London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane 1894. First Edition. Near Fine. First edition in English of Wilde's seminal one-act tragedy and the first to feature Aubrey Beardsley's lavishly unrestrained illustrations. One of 500 copies. xii 67 1 16 ads illustrated with frontispiece 9 full page plates and singular tailpiece. Bound in publisher's blue canvas cloth decoratively stamped in gilt after design by Beardsley. Near Fine with light sunning to spine and edges light foxing to cloth. Offsetting to front endsheets and armorial bookplate to pastedown there contents lightly tanned. <p>A beautiful copy of a definitive work of the Decadent movement. Composed initially in French Wilde allegedly intended for Sarah Bernhardt to play Salome in hopes of bypassing strict British censors although it was inevitably banned by Lord Chamberlain due to the depiction of biblical characters. The play premiered on February 11 1896 at the Theatre de l’Oeuvre in Paris starring Lina Munte and directed by Lugne-Poe. Rave reviews ensued and later adaptions followed most notably Richard Strauss' Dresden production which premiered in 1905. The radical work served as a direct affront to Victorian moral standards and cemented the femme fatale archetype for future avant-garde luminaries. Mason 350. Elkin Mathews & John Lane unknown
1881ST20886London: David Bogue 1881. FIRST EDITION First Issue. 192 x 126 mm. 7 1/2 x 5". ix 1 236 1 pp. <br/> EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE CRIMSON MOROCCO INTRICATELY GILT BY ZAEHNSDORF stamp-signed and dated 1909 on front turn-in covers framed in gilt with delicate pointillé cornerpieces surrounding inlaid green morocco drawer handles and oblique floral tools raised bands spine panels densely gilt in the pointillé style of Bozerian with stems of flowers radiating from pairs of inlaid green drawer handles turn-ins gilt-ruled red silk endleaves top edge gilt other edges untrimmed. Original slightly soiled gilt limp vellum binding bound in at rear. Mason 304. A few trivial spots internally but A VERY FINE COPY--the leaves fresh clean and wide-margined and the binding lustrous and virtually unworn.<br/> <br/> This is a finely bound copy of the first edition of Wilde's first book of poetry and his first substantial work of any kind. The collection is made up of 61 poems 31 of which appear here for the first time. Many reflect Wilde's delight in his visit to the art towns of Italy; other poems such as the tender "Resquiescat" written in memory of Wilde's sister Isola who had died at the age of eight show a more personal emotional sentiment. According to Mason "the first printing June 1881 consisted of 750 copies of which only 250 copies were used for the first edition the remaining 500 being equally divided between the second and third editions." Wilde himself oversaw the layout and design of the book choosing the handmade Dutch paper on which it is printed and the design of prunus blossoms on the vellum binding here bound in at the rear. The only published books by Wilde to appear before the present work were his student poem "Ravenna" which was named the "Newdigate Prize Poem" at Oxford for 1878 issued in wrappers and his drama "Vera; or the Nihilists" printed in 1880 of which Mason had knowledge of only two copies. Our attractive binding is a fine example of the work of the Zaehnsdorf firm long a top-ranked English bindery. Born in Pest Hungary Joseph Zaehnsdorf 1816-86 served his apprenticeship in Stuttgart worked at a number of European locations as a journeyman and then settled in London where he was hired first by Westley and then by Mackenzie before opening his own workshop in 1842. His son and namesake took over the business at age 33 when the senior Joseph died and the firm flourished under the son's leadership becoming a leading West End bindery. Over the years Zaehnsdorf employed a considerable number of distinguished binders including the Frenchman Louis Genth who was chief finisher from 1859-84 and trained a number of others including Roger de Coverly and Sarah Prideaux. A family-run business until 1947 the Zaehnsdorf bindery continued to produce consistently attractive and innovative designs executed with unfailing skill. David Bogue unknown
18931064London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press 1893. Limited First Edition. limp vellum. Very Good. Large 4to: 11 1/2" x 8 3/8" x 2" 29.2 x 21.3 x 5.1 cm. <p> <p>First Printing. Printed by William Morris. Bound in publisher's original by J. & J. Leighton with silk ties supplied by Morris & Co. with gilt titles to spine. One of 300 at four guineas paper copies plus 10 at twenty guineas on vellum. Printed on fine hand-made Batchelor with the first versions of the Primrose watermark paper with yapped edges. Uncut deckled edges. Colophon and the large floral printer's device designed by Morris no. 2. i-ii iii-xiv 1 2-455 456 pp. <p>Printed in black and red throughout with the Golden type designed by Morris for his press. Head-title speakers' names and shoulder- and footnotes in red. One full-page and two three-quarter-page woodcut borders 8 and 8a along with numerous 10- 6- and 3-line initials all designed by Morris engraved by William Harcourt Hooper.<p>Tells the tale of Sidonia von Borcke the Pomeranian noblewoman who was tried and executed for witchcraft in 1620. Lady Wilde's translation was 1st published in 1849. Morris wrote that "Sidonia was based more or less on fact concerning the Witch Fever that afflicted Northern Europe during the latter half of the 15th and 1st half of the 16th centuries and was a great favorite with the more literary part of the pre-Raphaelite artists who include William Morris and Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones . D.G. Rossetti in particular was an enthusiastic admirer." In early 1892 Aubrey Beardsley produced a frontispiece drawing of Sidonia. Morris's rejection of the illustration caused great indignation in Beardsley. Forman pp. 168 & 220. Peterson A19 & 51. <p>Most copies were bound in original limp vellum with silk ties but according to Peterson: "Cockerell instructed Leighton to bind thirty copies in 'half Holland uniform with THE GOLDEN LEGEND' and these were later donated to British and American libraries." <p>Covers somewhat marked and warped. Silk ties mostly perished remains laid in. Condition overall: Very Good. Kelmscott Press hardcover
1894835081894. WILDE Oscar. A Woman of No Importance. Orig. tan buckram gilt stamped decorations on boards and spine. London: John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head 1894. Mason 365. Richard Ellmann Oscar Wilde 1988; Joel Kaplan "Wilde on the Stage" The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde ed. by Peter Raby 1997. First edition. Large paper copy one of 50 copies. Previous owner's signature on limitation page. Boards toned browning to pastedowns and first free endpapers. Overall a near fine copy housed in a custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slipcase. unknown
1894OW018London: John Lane at the Sign of The Bodley Head 1894 First edition one of 50 large-paper copies printed on handmade paper. Original publisher's yellow buckram boards with gilt decorations by Charles Shannon to covers and spine spine lettered in gilt. Covers toned along outer margin spine toned only the slightest trace of rubbing to the extremities former owner bookplate to front pastedown and light offsetting to endpapers. A very good tight and clean copy. An extremely scarce book in the large-paper format. Mason 365. A Woman of No Importance was published simultaneously in two formats: small octavo the standard edition of 500 copies and quarto the "Large Paper" issue of 50 copies. While both constitute the first edition of A Woman of No Importance the large paper copies are decidedly rarer than the octavos; intended to be more exclusive and deluxe publications large paper formats were typically produced using higher quality materials lacked the publisher's advertisements and were printed in small print runs. Because they were intended as collectibles from publication large paper copies of Wilde's plays are exceedingly scarce. A Woman of No Importance is a four-act play that was first produced in London at the Haymarket Theatre on April 19 1893. Like many of Wilde's plays it satirizes the English upper-class and criticizes Victorian society. The title "a woman of no importance" refers to the character Mrs. Arbuthnot who bears the illegitimate son of Lord Illingworth. Although societal conventions deem her a sinful woman Wilde proves Arbuthnot a respectable widow who is rewarded with a son who treats women respectfully. In contrast Illingworth one of Wilde's archetypal dandy figures is rejected by his son and may of the women in the play making him a "man of no importance.". First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine. Illus. by Shannon Charles. London: John Lane at the Sign of The Bodley Head hardcover books
1894OW056London: John Lane at the Sign of The Bodley Head 1894 First edition limited large paper copy with "Of this edition 50 copies have been printed" statement on the verso of the fourth preliminary page and no publisher's catalogue at the back of the book. Publisher's yellow buckram boards with gilt decorations by Charles Shannon to covers and spine spine lettered in gilt. Near fine with some toning to spine and board edges light wear to spine ends with a very shallow chip to cloth at foot of spine bottom right corner of front board worn to boards and heavy offsetting to endpapers. Overall a beautiful copy of one of Wilde's four celebrated drawing-room plays. Mason 365. A Woman of No Importance is a four-act play that was first produced in London at the Haymarket Theatre on April 19 1893. Like many of Wilde's plays it satirizes the English upper-class and criticizes Victorian society. The title "a woman of no importance" refers to the character Mrs. Arbuthnot who bears the illegitimate son of Lord Illingworth. Although societal conventions deem her a sinful woman Wilde proves Arbuthnot a respectable widow who is rewarded with a son who treats women respectfully. In contrast Illingworth one of Wilde's archetypal dandy figures is rejected by his son and many of the women in the play making him a "man of no importance." A Woman of No Importance was published simultaneously in two formats: small octavo the standard edition of 500 copies and quarto the "Large Paper" issue of 50 copies. While both constitute the first edition of A Woman of No Importance the large paper copies are decidedly rarer than the octavos; intended to be more exclusive and deluxe publications large paper formats were typically produced using higher quality materials lacked the publisher's advertisements and were printed in small print runs. Because they were intended as collectibles from publication large paper copies of Wilde's plays are exceedingly scarce. First Edition Limited Large Paper Copy. Hard Cover. Near Fine. London: John Lane at the Sign of The Bodley Head hardcover
1899140949181London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. First Edition. Near Fine. First edition first printing. One of 1000 copies unnumbered. xvi 152 pp. printed on laid paper. Bound in publisher's lavender cloth with gilt spine lettering and decorations by Charles Shannon. Near Fine with sunning to spine and extremities and fading to spine gilt light soiling and scattered foxing to cloth light rubbing to extremities and slight bumping to lower corners. Binding starting at p. 105 offsetting to front endsheet bookplate to front pastedown. A very nice copy from the library of the American naval officer and book collector Charles John Muto. Mason 381.<br /> <br /> <p>The first edition of the most delightful play in the English language. Wilde's last play opened on Valentine's Day 1895 to almost unanimous praise. Two weeks later he received a card at his club accusing him of sodomy to which he responded with an ill-judged libel lawsuit that led to his downfall and imprisonment. By the time this book was published by Leonard Smithers one of his few remaining friends Wilde was dying in Paris his health broken by Reading Gaol. There are now statues to him in London and Dublin. Leonard Smithers and Co unknown
189923048ELondon: Leonard Smithers & Co 1899. First Edition. Number 298 of an edition limited to 1000 copies. Square quarto. Bound in original lavender cloth with gilt lettering at the spine and gilt decorative designs by Charles Shannon at the outer edges of the boards and the spine. A lovely copy with a trace of foxing a minor bump to the top corner of the front board some slight browning to the endpapers and very minor edgewear. From the library of Harpo Marx the great clown of the Marx Brothers comedy team and his wife actress Susan Fleming Marx former member of the Ziegfeld Follies and star of early talking films like Million Dollar Legs with W.C. Fields. With a charming bookplate illustrated by Susan Marx with a drawing of Harpo in his comic character which reads: “FROM THE LIBRARY OF HARPO & SUSAN MARX.†Leonard Smithers & Co hardcover books
189469042London: Elkin Matthews and John Lane at the sign of the Bodley Head 1894. RICKETTS Charles. . The Sphinx. With decorations by Charles Ricketts. London: Elkin Matthews and John Lane at the sign of the Bodley Head 1894.<br> <br> Full Description:<br> <br> WILDE Oscar. The Sphinx. With decorations by Charles Ricketts. London: Elkin Matthews and John Lane at the sign of the Bodley Head 1894.<br> <br> First edition. One of 200 copies for Great Britain printed on handmade paper. Small quarto 8 5/8 x 6 3/4 inches; 218 x 172 mm. 4 blank 6 27 1 blank 1 imprint 5 blank pp. Title-page printed in black red and green. Ten illustrations by Ricketts in the text including title-page of which eight are full-page all printed in red. Initial letters one large and twelve medium and guide words printed in green.<br> <br> Original vellum decoratively paneled and pictorially stamped in gilt after designs by Ricketts whose monogram appears in the lower left-hand corners. Gilt is bright and vellum generally clean. Vellum very slightly bowed as usual. Some foxing throughout as usual. Overall about fine.<br> <br> "The Sphinx is his Rickett's best book. The result is a perfect whole as harmonious as it is dazzling." Ray.<br> <br> Mason 361. Ray Illustrator and the Book 262.<br> <br> HBS 69042.<br> <br> $8500. Elkin Matthews and John Lane, at the sign of the Bodley Head unknown
1894001874London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane at The Sign of The Bodley Head 1894 1894. FIRST EDITION. 1 vol. 8-1/2" x 7" illustrated by Charles Rickets limited to 200 copies printed in 3 colors bound in original art nouveau gilt decorated vellum covers straight often found quite bowed inner and outer hinges fine head and foot of spine fine foxing to one side of the first 8 leaves typical previous owners bookplate to front pastedown housed in a 1/2 red morocco clamshell slipcase raised bands gilt decorated spine overall still a VERY GOOD copy. Charles Ricketts's art nouveau illustrations were described by W. E. Henley Wilde's harshest critic as "about as fin-de-Siecle a business as you ever saw" Frankel p. 155. Ricketts considered the designs for the illustrations and for the original vellum binding amongst his best work. While predominantly working with book illustration and design Ricketts was also famed for his theater designs and costumes and he contributed to the first English production of Wilde's Salome in 1906. London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane at The Sign of The Bodley Head, 1894 hardcover
1894256986London: John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head in Vigo Street 1894. First edition one of 50 Large Paper copies. 154 1 pp. Printed by T. and A. Constable Edinburgh. 1 vols. 4to. Original buckram gilt. Spine and extremities darkened endleaves with some paste darkening else fine in a custom purple half-morocco slipcase and chemise. First edition one of 50 Large Paper copies. 154 1 pp. Printed by T. and A. Constable Edinburgh. 1 vols. 4to. Large Paper Copy One of 50. An attractive large paper copy. Wilde's witty and urbane satire of the English upper class. This was written and produced in 1893 near the height of Wilde's career between Salome 1891 and his masterpiece The Importance of Being Ernest 1895. Mason 365. Provenance: Arthur Chester Rhodes John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head in Vigo Street unknown books
189422666ELondon: Elkin Mathews & John Lane 1894. First English Edition. Limited to 500 copies. Illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley. Original gilt-stamped blue cloth. Near fine only slightly handled copy with the gilt-stamping to the boards bright. From the library of Harpo Marx the great clown of the Marx Brothers comedy team and his wife actress Susan Fleming Marx former member of the Ziegfeld Follies and star of early talking films like Million Dollar Legs with W.C. Fields. With a charming bookplate illustrated by Susan Marx with a drawing of Harpo in his comic character which reads: “FROM THE LIBRARY OF HARPO & SUSAN MARXâ€. Elkin Mathews & John Lane hardcover books
189422666ELondon: Elkin Mathews & John Lane 1894. First English Edition. Limited to 500 copies. Illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley. Original gilt-stamped blue cloth. Near fine only slightly handled copy with the gilt-stamping to the boards bright. From the library of Harpo Marx the great clown of the Marx Brothers comedy team and his wife actress Susan Fleming Marx former member of the Ziegfeld Follies and star of early talking films like Million Dollar Legs with W.C. Fields. With a charming bookplate illustrated by Susan Marx with a drawing of Harpo in his comic character which reads: “FROM THE LIBRARY OF HARPO & SUSAN MARXâ€. Elkin Mathews & John Lane hardcover
1894188707London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane 1894. Deluxe issue of this sublime collaboration of enfants terribles First edition in English and first Beardsley edition deluxe issue one of 100 copies printed on Japanese vellum and bound in green silk boards. "If Le Morte Darthur made Beardsley known his designs for the first edition in English of Wilde's Salomé made him notorious and it remains the book of which most people think when his name is mentioned" Ray. Translated by Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas this edition appeared the year after the play's publication in French. The premiere took place on 11 February 1896 at the Comédie-Parisienne. To restrict its public staging in Britain the Lord Chamberlain cited Protestant Reformation laws banning religious plays. An opera version was sanctioned for performance in 1910 though the play itself had to be staged privately until the first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in 1931. A further 500 copies were printed on smaller paper and bound in blue canvas boards. Small quarto. Frontispiece and illustrated title page with tissue guard illustrated border on list of illustrations page 9 plates final tailpiece all by Beardsley. Publisher's 16-page advertisements at end. Original green silk boards spine lettered in gilt decorations designed by Beardsley to covers in gilt edges untrimmed. Binding unevenly discoloured and a little soiled minor wear to edges inner hinge partially split following title page splash mark to a couple lower margins. A very good copy. Mason 351; Ray 315A. hardcover
1894001392London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane 1894. 44p including blanks original gilt decorated vellum designed by Charles Ricketts with his monogram to bottom left hand corner of upper cover and the monogram of the binders Leighton Son and Hodge to the bottom left hand corner of the lower cover. Corners slightly bumped and rubbed vellum generally quite bright and clean. Internally some light browning to page edges some light foxing to several pages as often but generally fairly clean. Small booksellers label and previous owners book plate to front paste down. Printed in three colours throughout. Stated one of two hundred copies for the UK with another fifty printed for the US and twenty-five large paper copies and possibly a few more. Now housed in a cloth drop back box by Temple Bookbinders. Holbrook Jackson called 'The Sphinx' "'the most remarkable of the books of this period' because it translated the Wildean temperament into physical form . Ricketts created a parallel system of symbols evoking the mystery and erotic sensuality the Aesthetes often associated with Egypt" Thomson 'Aesthetic Tracts - Innovation in Late-Nineteenth-Century Book Design' page 75. Mason 361. First Edition. Full Vellum. Good. Illus. by Ricketts Charles. 8vo. Elkin Mathews and John Lane Hardcover
1894256986London: John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head in Vigo Street 1894. First edition one of 50 Large Paper copies. 154 1 pp. Printed by T. and A. Constable Edinburgh. 1 vols. 4to. Original buckram gilt. Spine and extremities darkened endleaves with some paste darkening else fine in a custom purple half-morocco slipcase and chemise. First edition one of 50 Large Paper copies. 154 1 pp. Printed by T. and A. Constable Edinburgh. 1 vols. 4to. An attractive large paper copy. Wilde's witty and urbane satire of the English upper class. This was written and produced in 1893 near the height of Wilde's career between Salome 1891 and his masterpiece The Importance of Being Ernest 1895. Mason 365. Provenance: Arthur Chester Rhodes John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head in Vigo Street unknown
1894329742London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane 1894. Limited. hardcover. fine. Ricketts Charles. Title page design and nine illustrations eight full page by Charles Ricketts. Printed throughout in black red & green all edges untrimmed. Thin small 4to full vellum with pictorial decorations in gilt to the spine & covers by Ricketts. 2 bookplates. London: Elkin Matthews & John Lane 1894. Limited edition.<br/> <br/> One of 200 unnumbered copies. An exceptionally fine copy unfoxed and with a clean binding<br/> <br/> Elkin Mathews & John Lane unknown
1892283124London: Elkin Mathews 1892. Limited. hardcover. near fine. Ricketts. Title page design and elaborately gilt pictorial binding by Charles Ricketts 8vo tan cloth uncut with top edge gilt. London: Chicwick Press for Elkin Mathews & John Lane.<br/><br/> The book has been re-cased with excellent facsimile end-papers and overall is in beautiful clean crisp condition. Number 64 of 220 copies signed by Wilde. Mason 309.<br/><br/> Elkin Mathews unknown books
18936451London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane 1893. First edition. One of 50 large-paper copies on hand-made paper. A Fine copy. Quarto 8 5/8 x 6 5/8 inches; 220 x 169 mm. i blank i limitation iii-xvi 132 pp. Handsomely bound by Zaehnsdorf ca. 1897 stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in and with their exhibition stamp in black on rear paste-down. Full dark green crushed levant morocco covers bordered in gilt enclosing a six-line gilt border. Spine with five raised bands decoratively framed and lettered in gilt in compartments gilt-ruled board edges multi gilt-lined turn-ins top edge gilt others uncut. With the bookplates of the renowned collector C. S. Ascherson dated 1897 and Paul Louis Weiller also a famous book collector and a great friend of J. Paul Getty on front paste-down. Housed in a felt-lined dark green cloth clamshell case spine with leather label lettered in gilt. A couple of tiny and unobtrusive minor stains on blank borders otherwise a clean copy in a wonderful and early if somewhat austere binding by the great firm of Zaehnsdorf.<br /> <br /> Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan A Play About a Good Woman was his "first successful dramatic production" and one of his many masterpieces Mendelssohn. His talent for astute adaptations of traditional comedic tropes like the long-lost child or mistaken motivations are utilized to full effect in this narrative. The four-act comedy was infamously first performed on 20 February 1892. In addition to pulling on popular stars to perform Wilde had the young men of his entourage arrive at the premier wearing green carnations in their buttonholes-something that scandalized attendees when in a metatheatrical moment one of the characters onstage appeared with one as well referencing its cost and symbolism for decadent immorality. Prim attendees were in fact surrounded by a generation of young men devoted to such aesthetic ideals and wearing the same flower.<br /> <br /> Mason 358. Elkin Mathews and John Lane unknown
