WILDE, OscarBiblio.com
303 résultats
1894151353London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane 1894. In the original vellum decorated by Charles Ricketts First edition one of 200 unnumbered copies. Wilde's poem together with Charles Ricketts's art nouveau illustrations was described by W. E. Henley Wilde's harshest critic as "about as fin-de-Siecle a business as you ever saw" Frankel p. 155. Wilde first met Ricketts in 1889 and in the two years that followed the artist designed either parts or the entirety of several of Wilde's works. Now celebrated for his book illustration and design Ricketts is also noted for his theatre designs and costumes and he contributed to the first English production of Wilde's Salomé in 1906. James G. Nelson records that alongside the 200 copies published in the limited edition a further 103 copies were printed though most of these were left unbound. Small quarto. Title page design one half-page illustration and eight full-page illustrations by Charles Ricketts. Original full vellum pictorial decorations by Ricketts to spine and covers in gilt all edges untrimmed printed throughout in black green and red. Ownership signature to front free endpaper and ownership inscription to preliminary blank. Vellum lightly soiled as usual and some occasional internal foxing; a fresh and very good copy with bright gilt to the covers. Nicholas Frankel Oscar Wilde's Decorated Books 2003; Mason 361; James G. Nelson A Checklist of Early Bodley Head Books: 1889-1894. hardcover
1898181391Paris: Société du Mercure de France 1898. Inscribed to a literary batailleur First edition in French number 1 of 12 copies on Holland paper inscribed by the author on the justification de tirage page: "a mon ami Robert Scheffer Oscar Wilde". Signed or inscribed copies of this edition are rare: we trace only two others in auction records. A French poet and short story writer Scheffer 1864-1926 is best remembered for his "contes rapides" or "quick tales" and for his combative style both as a literary critic and as a duellist. He took Wilde to the Folies Bergère on 10 May 1898 and presented him with a copy of his poetry collection La Chanson de Néos affectionately inscribed to the "grand poète". In 1909 Scheffer edited the short-lived gay magazine Akademos. Wilde wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol while exiled in France and originally published the work in Britain earlier the same year under the pseudonym "C.3.3." the number of his cell. He took a particular interest in this edition discussing the format type binding and other details with his translator Henry-David Davray 1873-1944. Wilde was intimately involved in the translation and Davray remembered how "Every word was weighed every term was discussed every sentence was read reread scanned with all possible intonations". Provenance: Samuel Pozzi 1846-1918 the French surgeon and pioneer gynecologist and subject of a portrait by John Singer Sargent with his bookplate. Octavo 183 x 121 mm. Text printed in French and English. Contemporary three-quarter green waxed paper spine lettered and ruled in gilt marbled sides and endpapers top edge red others untrimmed original wrappers bound in red and yellow silk bookmarker. Superficial split and small abrasion to front joint contents toned but clean. A very good copy. Not in Mason. unknown
1898181423London: Leonard Smithers 1898. The rare deluxe issue elegantly bound First edition number 17 of 30 copies printed on japon presented here in a restrained contemporary morocco binding. The limitation is handwritten in purple ink by Leonard Smithers. A further 800 copies on handmade paper were published simultaneously. Wilde wrote the poem while exiled in France and published it under the pseudonym "C.3.3." after his cell in Reading Gaol the third cell on the third landing of Gallery C. The first edition sold out rapidly and a second edition was issued within weeks. Octavo 220 x 145 mm. Contemporary purple morocco spine lettered and decorated with leaf tools in gilt "W" monogram enclosed in laurel wreath to front cover in gilt blind rules to covers turn-ins gilt original vellum spine bound in at rear. Housed in a purple flat-back cloth box by the Chelsea Bindery. Book label of J. O. Edwards to front free endpaper. Joints repaired a handsome copy. Mason 372. hardcover
1899281517London: Smithers 1899. Limited. hardcover. very good. 16 214 pages. Square 8vo original lavender cloth with gilt decorations on covers uncut edges. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. Limited First Edition. Some fading soiling & shelf-wear on the binding; old heraldic bookplate on end-paper which has offset onto front flyleaf still a very good clean copy of this exceedingly rare book.<br/><br/> One of Wilde's most frequently produced plays. Number 38 of only 100 large-paper copies signed by Wilde.<br/><br/> Smithers unknown books
1899295434London: Smithers 1899. Limited. hardcover. very good. 16 214 pages. Square 8vo original lavender cloth with gilt decorations on covers uncut edges. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. Limited First Edition. Some minor soiling & bubbling on the cover but still a very good internally clean copy of this exceedingly rare book.<br/><br/> One of Wilde's most frequently produced plays. Number 41 of only 100 large-paper copies signed by Wilde. Preserved in a 1/4 leather clam-shell case.<br/><br/> Smithers unknown books
189916085London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. First edition signed limited edition. Octavo original lavender publisher's cloth. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde. In very good condition with some light rubbing and darkening to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Wilde's play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times first in 1935 most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore Minnie Driver Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett. Mason 385. Leonard Smithers and Co hardcover books
189916085London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. First edition signed limited edition. Octavo original lavender publisher's cloth. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde. In very good condition with some light rubbing and darkening to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Wilde’s play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times first in 1935 most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore Minnie Driver Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett. Mason 385. Leonard Smithers and Co hardcover
1893ST20128Paris and London: Librairie de l'Art Indépendant; Elkin Mathews et John Lane 1893. FIRST EDITION. ONE OF 600 COPIES 500 of which were for sale. 243 x 150 mm. 8 x 5 5/8". 84 pp. 1 leaf. <br/> Pleasing red very coarse-grained morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe stamp-signed in gilt on rear turn-in covers with gilt coat of arms surrounded by a gilt oval raised bands gilt lettering gilt-ruled turn-ins top edge gilt others untrimmed. With the original purple wrappers bound in. Housed in a deluxe suede-lined modern red morocco case by Antonio Perez-Noriega covers with elaborate twining wood onlays. A PRESENTATION COPY FROM WILDE TO ADOLPHE RETTÉ WITH WILDE'S INSCRIPTION AND SIGNATURE ON THE FRONT FLYLEAF. Mason 348. See also: Mikhail "Oscar Wilde: Interviews and Recollections" pp. 190-91. Spine faintly sunned covers with a few small bumps and dents perhaps original with the skin or intentionally made by the binder one or two negligible finger smudges but a fine clean copy with just insignificant imperfections.<br/> <br/> This is a very special presentation copy of Wilde's most controversial play inscribed to one of three writers the author invited to edit the original French script. In the Gospel of Luke Herodias the haughty wife of Antipas tetrarch of Galilee is so incensed by the preaching of John the Baptist against her sins that she determines to be revenged. She persuades her daughter Salomé to ask Antipas the girl's stepfather for John's head as the reward for her seductive dancing. Wilde's fertile imagination converts this story into a tale of juvenile infatuation scorned and turned into demented hate. Written and first published in French "Salomé" was to have been staged in London with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role but this was prevented by the Lord Chamberlain the theater censor. Thus the play was first performed in 1896 in Paris with Bernhardt in the title role but without Wilde in attendance since he was confined at the time in Reading Gaol. It was not performed in London until 1905 in a private performance and the censor's ban was not lifted until 1932. Adolphe Retté 1863-1930 was a French poet essayist and literary figure who initially was celebrated for his decadent and symbolist poetry but later experienced a profound spiritual awakening that led him to renounce his earlier works and embrace Catholicism. He was one of three French-speaking poets along with Stuart Merrill and Pierre Louÿs Wilde solicited to look over the original script and correct any overt anglicisms. Retté who had met Wilde in Paris wrote about his involvement with "Salomé" in his memoir where he describes his admiration for the work: "Not only were Wilde's ideas subtle and delightful but he knew how to enhance them seeming to caress each word with his irresistible way of speaking." Retté marveled at Wilde's "talent as a conversationalist or rather as a monopolizer of the conversation and the wonderful way he would set forth the philosophy of 'hedonism.'" Wilde presentation copies are not exceptionally rare in general but we could find few such copies of this important first edition and none any more important as this one. Librairie de l'Art Indépendant; Elkin Mathews et John Lane unknown
189996121London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. First signed limited edition of Wilde's classic comedic stage play. Octavo original lavender publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine and gilt flourishes to the spine and front panel. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde this is number 85. In near fine condition with a touch of toning. A superior example. Wilde's play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times first in 1935 most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore Minnie Driver Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett. Leonard Smithers and Co hardcover books
189996121London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. First signed limited edition of Wilde's classic comedic stage play. Octavo original lavender publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine and gilt flourishes to the spine and front panel. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde this is number 85. In near fine condition with a touch of toning. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. A superior example. Wilde’s play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times first in 1935 most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore Minnie Driver Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett. Leonard Smithers and Co hardcover
1898188708London: Leonard Smithers 1898. For he who lives more lives than one / More deaths than one must die Signed limited edition number 74 of 99 copies signed by the author. Wilde styled this the "author's edition" and in a letter to his publisher of 28 February 1898 he insisted on the purple binding with a new gilt remarque by Ricketts. Produced at Wilde's request it was the third edition overall appearing two months after the first. Octavo. Original cream quarter linen spine lettered in gilt purple cloth sides flower and leaf design on front cover after remarque by Charles Ricketts edges untrimmed. Ownership inscriptions to prelims of Florence Vanda Cunliffe Thomas 1873-1936 Red House Bicester dated March and April 1898 following publication in March. Spine toned binding a little marked surface scratch on front cover light edge wear intermittent foxing but bright overall. A very good copy. Mason 374. hardcover
1898259158London 1898. First edition ONE OF 30 COPIES on Japanese vellum. 1 vols. 8vo. Cinnamon-colored cloth vellum spine. Covers show slight insect damage and minor soiling spine a bit soiled otherwise a very good copy in a quarter blue morocco slipcase with chemise and with the bookplate and signature of actress LENA ASHWELL 1872-1957 on the front pastedown. First edition ONE OF 30 COPIES on Japanese vellum. 1 vols. 8vo. First edition of Wilde's legendary poem written while he was imprisoned in its rarest state - being one of only 30 copies printed on Japanese vellum.<br /> <br /> This copy comes from the distinguished library of the actress Lena Ashwell 1872-1957 who as a young actress toured in Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan in 1891 later becoming actor-manager of the Savoy Theatre. Ashwell was particularly troubled by the news of Wilde's arrest and wrote later: ". the atmosphere of London was horrible and cruel. His plays were so very brilliant and I had seen this when I was in Lady Windermere's so I felt that he was a friend and in desperate trouble." Later during WWI she is known to have pioneered the organization of entertainments on a large scale for the British troops in France Leask Margaret Lena Ashwell: Actress Patriot Pioneer 2012.<br /> <br /> An excellent association copy of an essential Wilde rarity. Mason 372 unknown
1888PB-0034<p>Signed first edition of Oscar Wilde's incredibly scarce "The Happy Prince and Other Tales." David Nutt publisher. Ballantyne Press. Quarto handmade paper. Original boards in Japanese vellum. Limited edition number 14 of 75 signed by both Oscar Wilde and publisher David Nutt. Publication date: 1888. Stunning illustrations: front cover design in red ink by Jacob Hood as well as head and tailpiece vignettes. Plates by Walter Crane. No dust jacket as issued.</p><p>Published before well before Wilde's incarceration and trial and before his best known works such as "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" and "The Importance of Being Earnest". The fairy tales written for his children originally include "The Happy Prince" "The Nightingale and the Rose" "The Selfish Giant" "The Devoted Friend" and "The Remarkable Rocket."</p><p>Evidence of previous tape repair on spine exterior and front and rear boards with chipping and loss on spine. Interior tape repair on inner hinge and evidence of what appears to be a hastily removed book plate on front pastedown. Light soot or dirt smudging on portion of title page. Interior pages are good. This volume is scarce in any condition but remains an excellent candidate for rebinding or external repairs and is priced accordingly. More photos available on request.</p> David Nutt hardcover
1891BBO50<p><b>WILDE</b> Oscar: </p><p><i><b>The Picture of Dorian Gray</b></i>.<br /></p><p>London: Ward Lock and Co. 1891.</p><p>First English edition Deluxe Issue Limited to 250 copies #43. <b>Signed by Oscar Wilde</b>.</p><p>4to vii viii 334 pp.; <b>design binding by Robert Wu</b> in gilt red goat morocco.</p><p>A Landmark work of Literature.</p> Ward Lock and Co. hardcover books
1894319476London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane. At the Sign of the Bodley Head. Boston Copeland and Day LXIX Cornhill 1894. LARGE PAPER one of 25 copies. Printed by the Ballantyne Press. Illustrated by Charles Ricketts with wood-engraved title page half and full-page designs ornamental initials. Printed in red black and green. Unpaginated. 1 vols. Slender 8vo 10 x 7-3/8 inches. Original full vellum gilt with fantastic designs including 2 weird female sphinx on both sides by Charles Ricketts uncut The deluxe binding has "extra ornaments to the sides and inner marges of the binding and with ribbons". The binding is signed by Ricketts with monogram CR on the upper cover; the monogram of the binder Leighton Son and Hodge appears on the lower cover. The deluxe issue has an added lower border on the binding and ties. Fine copy custom half morocco clamshell box. Ricketts Charles. LARGE PAPER one of 25 copies. Printed by the Ballantyne Press. Illustrated by Charles Ricketts with wood-engraved title page half and full-page designs ornamental initials. Printed in red black and green. Unpaginated. 1 vols. Slender 8vo 10 x 7-3/8 inches. One of 25 Anthony Powell's Copy. "The monsters of the Egyptian room at the British Museum live again in his weird sometimes repulsive but all the same stately and impressive lines. The vellum binding the various symbolic designs the quaint rubricated initials and the general arrangement of the text all by Mr. Ricketts' sympathetic art are most subtly infused by the spirit of the poem." Pall Mall Budget June 21 1894. This was the last book Wilde published before his imprisonment.<br/>"the most beautiful and consummately designed trade book of the 1890s" - Nelson<br/>With the bookplate of novelist Anthony Powell 1905-2000 about whose suite of novels A Dance to the Music of Time Guy Davenport observed "The only book I know that takes Proust's habitual narrative gestures Anglicizes them and succeeds in the effort. In fact Powell is the best critical study of Proust."<br/>A CHOICE COPY OF ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKS OF THE 1890s. Mason 362; Nelson A View from the Bodley Head pp.45- 46 passim; Wick THE TURN OF A CENTURY 1885-1910 Number 10; Ray Illustrator and the Book 262. Provenance: Anthony Powell his bookplate Elkin Mathews and John Lane. At the Sign of the Bodley Head. Boston Copeland and Day LXIX Cornhill unknown books
18987848London: Leonard Smithers 1898. First edition. Fine. One of thirty copies printed on Japanese vellum paper this being copy twenty-four. Published under the pseudonym "C.3.3." Wilde's cell number while he was at Reading Gaol in an attempt to separate Wilde's then-notorious name from the publication. A lovely Fine copy.<br /> <br /> Wilde's long poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" published just two years before his death draws on the experience of being imprisoned at Reading after his conviction for gross indecency in 1895. Wilde had famously faced a highly publicized trial that ended with a sentence of two years hard labor which he served at Pentonville Prison Wandsworth and finally at Reading. The poem was directly inspired by Charles Thomas Woolridge a fellow inmate who was executed at Reading after being convicted of murdering his wife. The crime was metaphorized by Wilde in his poem which contains one his most famous lines: "Yet each man kills the thing he loves."<br /> <br /> In the last three years of his life which he spent in exile in Naples and then in Paris Wilde continued to edit and publish his plays - the first editions of An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were published during this period - but he wrote very little having "lost the joy of writing" Ellman Oscar Wilde. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" then was the last new literary work of Wilde's career and perhaps his most haunting. He concludes his poem with the elegiac stanza: "And all men kill the thing they love / By all let this be heard / Some do it with a bitter look / Some with a flattering word / The coward does it with a kiss / The brave man with a sword." Fine. Leonard Smithers unknown
1882#8<p>Oscar Wilde<br />Poems. Fourth Edition.<br />London David Bogue 1882.<br /><br />Octavo. ix pp. 1 blank leaf 234 pp. 2 pp. publisher's catalogue and 1 blank leaf.<br /><br />Publisher's binding. Full white vellum Bradel binding both covers decorated with a symmetrical gilt and blind-stamped floral panel spine likewise adorned with a large gilt floral panel title in gilt lettering top edge gilt untrimmed.<br /><br />Fourth edition.<br /><br />Copy enriched with an autograph inscription signed on the verso of the half-title:<br />"To Alphonse Daudet the greatest novelist of our time homage from the author. Oscar Wilde May 3 83."<br /><br />An exceptional inscription to "the greatest novelist of our time."<br /><br />Having only just returned from New York Oscar Wilde spent the period from February to mid-May in Paris. It was there that he made the acquaintance of Alphonse Daudet whom he met both at his home his wife hosted a celebrated salon and at the residence of the painter Giuseppe de Nittis.<br /><br />Robert Harborough Sherard who was a friend of both Daudet and Wilde testified to the genuine esteem the English writer held for the French novelist.<br /><br />Although their aesthetics may at first appear far apart certain parallels can nevertheless be drawn between their works. Thus it has been written of L'Homme au cerveau d'or one of the tales from Lettres de mon moulin that "one might readily believe it to be the work of an Edgar Allan Poe or an Oscar Wilde."<br /><br />Yet Alphonse Daudet like the vast majority of French writers did not distinguish himself by his courage and even went further: in 1895 after Wilde's sentence to two years' hard labour he refused to sign a petition by Hugues Rebell calling for a reduction of his sentence accompanying his refusal with the remark: "As a father I can only express my horror and indignation."<br /><br />Let us recall that this exemplary family man confided to Gustave Flaubert during a dinner: "To experience pleasure against my own flesh I require the flesh of two women one whom I handle and the other who attends to the backside of the one I am fondling" Journal of Edmond de Goncourt 5 May 1876.<br /><br />This inscription by Oscar Wilde certainly dates from a period when he was seeking to ingratiate himself with the French intellectual milieu yet he was nonetheless fully aware of Alphonse Daudet's great talent and sincere in this fine dedication.</p> David Bogue
1882#9<p>Oscar Wilde<br />Poems. Fourth Edition.<br />London David Bogue 1882.<br /><br />Octavo. ix pp. 1 blank leaf 234 pp. 2 pp. publisher's catalogue and 1 blank leaf.<br /><br />Publisher's binding. Full white vellum Bradel binding both covers decorated with a symmetrical gilt and blind-stamped floral panel spine likewise adorned with a large gilt floral panel title in gilt lettering top edge gilt untrimmed.<br /><br />Fourth edition.<br /><br />Copy enriched with an autograph inscription signed on the verso of the half-title:<br />"To Alphonse Daudet the greatest novelist of our time homage from the author. Oscar Wilde May 3 83."<br /><br />An exceptional inscription to "the greatest novelist of our time."<br /><br />Having only just returned from New York Oscar Wilde spent the period from February to mid-May in Paris. It was there that he made the acquaintance of Alphonse Daudet whom he met both at his home his wife hosted a celebrated salon and at the residence of the painter Giuseppe de Nittis.<br /><br />Robert Harborough Sherard who was a friend of both Daudet and Wilde testified to the genuine esteem the English writer held for the French novelist.<br /><br />Although their aesthetics may at first appear far apart certain parallels can nevertheless be drawn between their works. Thus it has been written of L'Homme au cerveau d'or one of the tales from Lettres de mon moulin that "one might readily believe it to be the work of an Edgar Allan Poe or an Oscar Wilde."<br /><br />Yet Alphonse Daudet like the vast majority of French writers did not distinguish himself by his courage and even went further: in 1895 after Wilde's sentence to two years' hard labour he refused to sign a petition by Hugues Rebell calling for a reduction of his sentence accompanying his refusal with the remark: "As a father I can only express my horror and indignation."<br /><br />Let us recall that this exemplary family man confided to Gustave Flaubert during a dinner: "To experience pleasure against my own flesh I require the flesh of two women one whom I handle and the other who attends to the backside of the one I am fondling" Journal of Edmond de Goncourt 5 May 1876.<br /><br />This inscription by Oscar Wilde certainly dates from a period when he was seeking to ingratiate himself with the French intellectual milieu yet he was nonetheless fully aware of Alphonse Daudet's great talent and sincere in this fine dedication.</p> David Bogue
1894#15<p>Oscar Wilde<br />Salome. A Tragedy in One Act: Translated from the French of Oscar Wilde; Pictured by Aubrey Beardsley.<br />Salomé une tragédie en un acte traduite du français illustrée par Aubrey Beardsley.<br />London Elkin Mathews & John Lane; Boston Copeland & Day 1894.<br /><br />Small quarto. 5 unnumbered leaves half-title engraved title dedication to Alfred Douglas list of characters engraved list of illustrations 67 pp. and 16 pp. of publisher's advertisements. 10 engraved plates printed on Japan paper and one historiated tailpiece.<br /><br />A precious copy from the library of Jules Claretie accompanied by an autograph letter and a superb original photograph of Oscar Wilde.<br /><br />Contemporary binding signed by Gruel. Full olive morocco covers framed with a quadruple blind fillet spine with five raised bands extending onto the covers inner dentelles with gilt fillets gilt edges at the head edges ruled.<br /><br />First English edition printed in 500 copies.<br /><br />Copy enriched with:<br />– An original photograph of Oscar Wilde 145 × 105 mm by Alfred Ellis albumen print of the period.<br />– A press clipping announcing Wilde's death and another reporting on his funeral.<br />– An autograph letter signed by Oscar Wilde to Jules Claretie dated "The Cottage Goring-on-Thames" 1894 4 pages 12mo in black ink on a folded vellum paper bifolium.<br /><br />Translation of the letter originally in French:<br />"Dear Monsieur Claretie<br />Pray allow me the pleasure of asking you to accept a copy of my play Salomé and permit me to assure you how highly I value the privilege of meeting the artistic director of the most artistic theatre in the world.<br />I have retired to the country to reflect upon a new play but before the season ends I hope to return to London and to have the opportunity of seeing you again.<br />The only hope I see for our English drama lies in the establishment of a theatre like the French Theatre. I hope we may find a director possessing as much sympathy for art as yourself.<br />Pray accept this expression of my respect and admiration.<br />Oscar Wilde."<br /><br />One year after its first appearance in French the English version of Salome was published. The dedication reads: "To my friend Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas the translator of my play." In fact the translation gave rise to a dispute between Wilde and his young protégé whose command of French was rather limited. Wilde redid the entire work and refused to allow Douglas's name to appear on the title page. Douglas saw between this dedication and the absence of his name on the title page "the difference between a tribute of admiration from an artist and a tradesman's receipt."<br /><br />The book is one of the masterpieces of the English illustrated book featuring the striking compositions of Aubrey Beardsley 1872–1898 who also designed two magnificent historiated borders for the title page and the list of illustrations as well as the final tailpiece. These stylized and sinuous drawings show the artist at the height of his powers playing with bold areas of deep black ink contrasted with untouched white spaces and sophisticated decorative elements inspired equally by Renaissance ornament and the then-fashionable Japanese style. For Salome the young artist created the archetype of the poisonous woman typical of Symbolism surrounded by grotesque and perverse secondary figures. Wilde paid tribute to him declaring that Beardsley was "the only artist who knew what the dance of Salome was and who could see that invisible dance."<br /><br />This copy belonged to the novelist playwright and critic Jules Claretie 1840–1913 who from 1885 until his death served as administrator of the Comédie-Française which Wilde here does not hesitate to call "the most artistic theatre in the world." Claretie introduced contemporary authors such as Henry Bataille and Octave Mirbeau into its repertoire.<br /><br />This was a bold undertaking and Wilde here pays tribute to it: "The only hope I see for our English drama lies in the establishment of a theatre like the French Theatre."<br /><br />The very fine portrait of Oscar Wilde mounted at the beginning of this copy was taken in 1892 by the London photographer Alfred Ellis 1854–1930. The writer is captured as he truly was at the height of his career: impeccably dressed posing in a high-buttoned double-breasted jacket flower in his buttonhole white pocket square a cigarette in his left hand and his gloves in his right the latter resting on his hip.</p> Elkin Mathews & John Lane
1898140948944London: Leonard Smithers 1898. Signed Limited Issue. Near Fine. Third edition limited issue #69 of 99 copies signed by Oscar Wilde in black ink on the limitation page. 31 pp. printed on rectos only. Bound in publisher's purple cloth over and white spine cloth stamped in gilt; gilt floral ornament to front board after the famed British artist Charles Ricketts. Housed in a custom quarter morocco slipcase. <p>Near Fine with slight lean to binding light soilingto boards. Bookplate of business man Chauncey Lawrence Williams at front pastedown along with an inscription from the former owner and giftee below dated March 8 1934. Williams was publishing partner of W. Irving Way of Way and Williams who published L. Frank Baum's first literary venture Mother Goose in Prose 1897 Additionally he commissioned a 28-year-old Frank Lloyd Wright to build his home in River Forest Illinois. Williams' funeral service program is laid-in at front offsetting from previously laid-in papers at front endsheets with remnants of former auction record at front free endpaper. <p>Wilde's poignant poem a reflective narrative calling for prison reform and critique of Victorian-era justice systems. Written in exile and printed anonymously under his identification number "C. 3. 3." issued to him at Reading prison during his two year imprisonment for gross indecency with his lover Lord Alfred Douglas.The scarcest and most desirable edition of the author's widely lauded and instantly successful protest poem which serves as a deeply personal lament and a powerful testament to his time in prison. Mason 374. Leonard Smithers unknown
18932958London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane 1893. First edition. Near Fine. Original publisher's clothing binding with gilt to spine and boards. A Near Fine copy with the spine slightly toned. Bookplate of Governour Morris Esquire to front pastedown. Light scattered foxing throughout. Collates: 12 132 14 2: complete including the publisher's catalogue with pages uncut. Inscribed by Wilde on the first blank to the business manager of the St. James's Theater: "R. V. Shone with the author's compliments and sincere thanks. Nov. 93." Under the management of George Alexander and R. V. Shone The St. James's Theater staged Lady Windermere's Fan Wilde's first produced play in 1892 the year before the book was released.<br/><br/>First editions signed by Wilde are scarce on the market with Lady Windermere being particularly rare as only 500 copies of the first edition were printed Mason. Auction records show that the six known association copies of this play were all signed trade editions as the run of 50 large paper copies came out after. The most recent presentation copy of Lady Windermere also presented to someone involved in the production sold in 2018 at Leslie Hindman for $40000. An exceptional example of Oscar Wilde presenting a first edition of his first produced play with "sincere thanks" to the theatre manager who throughout his career would assist Wilde in dodging scandal and bad publicity.<br/><br/>Critics and scholars consider Lady Windermere's Fan to be Wilde's "first successful dramatic production" as well as an enduring masterpiece Mendelssohn. Its success not only relied on his update to French comic models and tropes including blackmail revenge attempts and the discovery of a lost child; success also came as a result of Wilde's own management of the premier. "What we want to do is to have all the real conditions of a success on our hands.Success is a science; if you have the right conditions you get the result" he informed one of the actors Mendelssohn. 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. This very symbol born out of Lady Windermere would lead to a strong and important professional relationship between Wilde and this book's recipient R.V. Shone the business manager at the St. James. <br/><br/>In 1894 an anonymously published novel The Green Carnation exposed the sexual relationship between Wilde and Bosie son to the Marquess of Queensbury -- a man who would become Wilde's nemesis to the end of his life. Though Wilde sought to dodge Queensbury socially the marquess was roiling for public confrontation. "There was one place and time where he could be sure of seeing Wilde -- the St. James' Theatre on the opening night of The Importance of Being Earnest when as was his custom he would take the stage after the performance to enjoy the acclaim of the audience. It was too good a chance to miss. Queensbury bought a ticket 'by fraud' Wilde suggested --as orders had been given not to sell him one -- and some vegetables.His intention was to greet Oscar's appearance with a shower of vegetation and then stand up and make a public announcement" Stratmann. Fortunately for Wilde supporters including Shone prevented this from happening. Rumor about Queensbury's plan spread notes were sent to Wilde and Wilde appealed to Shone for assistance. Reaching out to Queensbury with apologies Shone returned the marquess's money and explained that his seat had mistakenly been double-booked. Yet Shone and Wilde suspected this would not be the end and so Shone arranged not only to refuse the marquess admission at the door but to have police waiting at the entrance. It was this decision that prevented a disguised Queensbury and a paid prizefighter from sneaking in to pummel Wilde. Thwarted by Shone "he contented himself with having a bouquet of vegetables addressed to Wilde delivered to the stage door" Mikhail. Throughout his career staging work at St. James's Wilde would rely on Shone's business sense to make performances a success regardless what scandals they faced. An exceptional and rare association. Near Fine. Elkin Mathews & John Lane unknown books
1898303630London Leonard Smithers 1898. 1898. Third edition so stated. 8vo. Half white over purple linen gilt stamped spine upper cover with gilt stamped floral design by Charles Ricketts uncut. Very good-fine. 31 pages. Enclosed in a 1/2 brown morocco slipcase with folding chemise. Number 69 of 99 copies printed March 4 1898 signed by Wilde in black ink on limitation page with characteristic paraph to the final "e." Mason #374. Bookplate of Chauncey Lawrence Williams on the front free endpaper and a signed pencil notation by Paul Lemperly noting he received the book from Williams. Williams 1872-1924 former member of Way and Williams publishers and the F.W. Dodge Corp. With his memorial booklet laid in loose. Lemperly 1858-1939 noted American book collector. Signed by Authors. 3rd Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. London, Leonard Smithers, 1898. hardcover books
1899110755London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. Signed limited large-paper edition of the author's masterpiece number 68 of 100 copies signed by Oscar Wilde on the limitation page. Octavo original pale purple cloth gilt titles to the spine gilt floral motifs from designs by Charles Shannon on spine and covers edges untrimmed. Presentation copy with an autograph letter signed by the third and final wife of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill actress Carlotta Monterey O'Neill to stage actor Harrison K. Ford laid in which reads "To Harrison Ford Do hope you will enjoy this!- All good wishes Carlotta Monterey O'Neill Dec 6th 31 1095 Park Ave.-" From the library of Harrison K. Ford with his bookplate to the front pastedown. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. In near fine condition. An exceptional example with noted provenance. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personæ to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Contemporary reviews all praised the play's humour though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages while others foresaw the modern consensus that it was the culmination of Wilde's artistic career so far. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wilde's lover planned to present the writer with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off and Queensberry was refused admission. Soon afterwards their feud came to a climax in court where Wilde's homosexual double life was revealed to the Victorian public and he was eventually sentenced to imprisonment. His notoriety caused the play despite its early success to be closed after 86 performances. After his release he published the play from exile in Paris but he wrote no further comic or dramatic work. Leonard Smithers and Co hardcover books
1893#16<p>Oscar Wilde Salomé. Drame en un acte. Paris Librairie de l'Art indépendant; London Elkin Mathews and John Lane 1893. Square 12mo 196 × 145 mm. 2 blank leaves 84 numbered pages the first 8 unnumbered: half-title title dedication to Pierre Louÿs list of characters; text beginning on p. 9 and 2 unnumbered leaves 1 leaf with the colophon dated 6 February 1893 and 1 blank leaf. Modern binding. Half black morocco with small corner pieces bluish paper sides smooth spine title in gilt untrimmed top edge with matte gilt doublures and endleaves of the same paper. Original violet wrappers and spine the upper cover printed in silver lettering preserved. Excellent condition. A few small spots; upper edges of the boards slightly faded; wrappers somewhat sunned. First edition. This celebrated play was written directly in French by Wilde between 1891 and 1892; first performed in 1896 its text was revised at the author's request by Marcel Schwob Stuart Merrill and Pierre Louÿs. The first English edition appeared the following year. Limited edition of 600 copies with no special issue on large paper. The second blank leaf bears the following autograph inscription signed in black ink: "<em>À Puvis de Chavannes / </em><em>Hommage respectueux / </em><em>Oscar Wilde</em>" To Pierre Puvis de Chavannes respectful homage Oscar Wilde. The celebrated painter and muralist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes 1824–1898 like Oscar Wilde 1854–1900 lived in the cult of Beauty. Renowned for his compositions of noble and hieratic character influenced both by Greco-Roman classicism and by Symbolism his work exerted a profound fascination on late nineteenth-century painters and sculptors particularly Edgar Degas Paul Gauguin Aristide Maillol and Maurice Denis. The aesthetic connection between Oscar Wilde and Puvis de Chavannes is to be sought precisely around Salomé since the artist had painted in 1869 a Beheading of Saint John the Baptist that may well have inspired the author. Moreover it is known that when Aubrey Beardsley—who would illustrate the English version of the play in 1894—came to Paris in 1893 he was strongly encouraged by the French painter who introduced him as "a young English artist who produces astonishing things." The inscription in Salomé is therefore particularly significant and of greater import than a simple tribute. A very fine provenance for this celebrated drama written directly in French by Oscar Wilde.</p> Librairie de l’Art indépendant
1899140940300London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. Signed Limited First Edition. Near Fine. Signed limited first edition. xii 152 pp. Bound in publisher's original pale lavender cloth with gilt spine lettering and decorations by Charles Shannon. Copy number 82 of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde with a flourish. Near Fine with subtle sunning several barely discernible spots to cloth short bubble to rear cloth. Typical offsetting to endpapers and a 5" tear to the rear endpaper. Contents bright and fresh. A beautiful copy. Wilde's masterpiece which opened to wide acclaim at the St. James's Theatre London on February 14 1895. It was withdrawn after 86 performances following his arrest and imprisonment on charges of gross indecency as a consequence of his failed libel suit against Lord Queensbury the father of Wilde's homosexual lover Lord Alfred Douglas. He was outed as gay a disgrace in Victorian society and the play was not published in any form until the present edition following his release from prison. It has been hailed as an exemplary farce called by poet W.H. Auden "a pure verbal opera. Leonard Smithers and Co unknown books
