8 181 résultats
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
61214London: Methuen & Co. & Paris: Charles Carrington The Picture of Dorian Gray 1908. FIRST COLLECTED EDITION OF THE WORKS OF OSCAR WILDE. LIMITED EDITION ONE OF 80 SETS ON JAPANESE VELLUM. 14 volumes. Demy 8vo. 20.5 x 15 cm. Publisher's original limp vellum bindings gilt titles and tooling to the spine upper covers with designs by Charles Ricketts yap edges top edges gilt. Ex libris William Forbes Morgan with his bookplate to front pastedowns. Some trivial soiling to vellum Salome with a light splash of red to upper cover contents exceptionally clean and fresh overall an excellent bright set. A fine set of this first collected edition in its most desirable format on Japanese vellum. "The text is taken in most instances from the last editions issued under the superintendence of the author. In some cases the volumes contain additional matter which had not previously been reprinted while some of the volumes contain matter here published for the first time. Some of the volumes contain matter which owing to the exigencies of copyright and other difficulties is not included in any other edition" Mason. Complete sets in the original binding and in such excellent condition seldom appear on the market. "The first collected edition of Wilde's works was issued in 1908 with 14 volumes 13 with the imprint of Methuen & Co. and one The Picture of Dorian Gray with the imprint of Charles C arrington Paris. The text is taken in most instances from the last editions issued under the superintendence of the author. In some cases the volumes contain additional material which had not previously been r0eprinted while some of the volumes contain matter here published for the first time… Some of the volumes contain matter which is not included in any other edition" Mason 459. This set collects such classics as Lady Windermere's Fan The Happy Prince Salome and The Importance of Being Earnest as well as numerous essays and poems. This edition was edited by Robert Ross Wilde's long-time intimate friend and literary executor. Mason 421 424 426 428 430 432 434 436 438 440 442 444 446 and 448 London: Methuen & Co. & Paris: Charles Carrington [The Picture of Dorian Gray], 1908. hardcover
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
1982ST16482Bayreuth: Printed by Chr. Scheufele Offizin Stuttgart for Bear Press 1982. No. 1 OF 10 COPIES ON VELLUM plus a "special" edition of 25 copies and 185 copies on Kochi Japanese paper. 223 x 148 mm. 8 7/8 x 5 3/4". 50 pp. 2 leaves.Translated and with an afterword by Wolfram Benda. <br/> Publisher's fine burgundy morocco by Erwin Lehr upper cover with gilt rose in recessed square flat spine with gilt titling turn-ins with gilt fillet frame pale yellow silk pastedowns. In the original burgundy suede slipcase. With three large initials in burnished gold and four signed and numbered original etchings by Peter Klitsch. Printed in red and black. Signed in the colophon by the artist the binder and the publisher/translator. In mint condition.<br/> <br/> This is the splendid deluxe version of a finely crafted private press edition of Wilde's fairy tales "The Nightingale and the Rose" "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant." It is the third work issued by the Bear Press founded in 1979 by literary scholar Wolfram Benda and still in operation. According to the firm's website "at a time when the craftsmanship and ethos of the artisan in bookmaking have been damaged by ever-increasing industrialization and neglect . . . The Bear Press . . . tries to achieve the highest possible degree of technical and artistic perfection in its printed works." The font used to print the text and the artist chosen to illustrate each work are carefully selected to express "the individual author's personality and intention." Even the discriminating aesthete Wilde 1854-1900 would be pleased with the choices here especially for the luxurious vellum printing: the type is set in refined Walbaum Antiqua and shown off with special effect by the creamy leaves; the etchings by Austrian artist Peter Klitsch b. 1934 are meticulous detailed and reminiscent of the work of Wilde's friend Aubrey Beardsley; and the binding is the epitome of tasteful restraint flawlessly executed with premium materials. <br /> <br /> The three tales here first appeared in 1888 and are bittersweet in their themes of love and self-sacrifice. His stories for children were one of Wilde's early successes and DNB notes "Their permanent place in child affections refutes the vulgarism that Wilde's literary reputation arose from his legal notoriety. In all cases the fairy tales are on the child's side celebrating the courage and generosity of the poor and vulnerable while their satire mocks the kind of pomposity and hypocrisy children can recognize." We have been able to trace just two other copies of the vellum printing at auction in ABPC and RBH. [Printed by Chr. Scheufele Offizin, Stuttgart, for] Bear Press unknown
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
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
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
19061843Düsseldorf: Schmitz & Olbertz 1906. First German edition. Numbered one of 600 copies. In unique custom made hand-painted vellum binding by Lajos Kozma. Title on spine in gilt lettering. Upper edge gilt. Paste paper endpapers. Kozma’s signet on front flyleaf’s verso and another signet supposedly of the owner: “CHW†on the additional flyleaf drawn by Kozma in black ink. Binding with slight discolorations and light stains. Inside some light and scattered foxing. Overall in fine condition. First German edition. Numbered one of 600 copies. In unique custom made hand-painted vellum binding by Lajos Kozma. Title on spine in gilt lettering. Upper edge gilt. Paste paper endpapers. Kozma’s signet on front flyleaf’s verso and another signet supposedly of the owner: “CHW†on the additional flyleaf drawn by Kozma in black ink. 44 4 p. <p><br /> The first German edition of The Priest and the Acolyte in Lajos Kozma’s Unique Hand-Painted Art Nouveau binding.<br /> <p><p><br /> Lajos Ludwig Kozma 1884–1948 was one of the chief Hungarian architects and interior designers of the first half of the 20th century he is also known for his graphic designs and book illustrations and binding designs. His early works were created in Art Nouveau style but later through Art Deco he found his way to International Modernism.<br /> <p><p><br /> The scandalous story of The Priest and the Acolyte here in A. W. Hiller’s translation is attributed to Oscar Wilde however its real author was John Francis Bloxam 1873–1928 an English Uranian author and churchman. The novel appeared first in The Chameleon Vol. I No. 1 December 1894.<br /> <p>. Schmitz & Olbertz unknown
119720London John Lane 1894. . First edition one of 50 large paper copies; 4to; printed on hand-made paper contemporary ownership inscription to limitation endpapers browned; publisher's straw coloured buckram with gilt decorations by Charles Ricketts gilt lettering to spine spine browned a couple of trivial marks to covers else very good plus; housed in custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slip-case.<br /> One of only 50 large paper copies. This play contains some of Wilde's most famous epigrams.<br /><br />First performed in April 1893 prior to being published in book form A Woman of No Importance addresses many social issues with Wilde's wit and dark humour. The run of the play was cut short as a result of Wilde's arrest and prosecution. The scandal dampened enthusiasm for Wilde's work until after his death in 1900 when interest in his work began to revive.<br /> Mason 402. London, John Lane, 1894. hardcover
190521107London/Paris: Methuen 1905. A first edition first printing of 'De Profundis' by Oscar Wilde published posthumously in 1905 by Methuen. A near fine book a little spotted to the page edges - A little rubbed to the spine tips and corners but a sharp lovely example. Accompanied by a silver cigarette holder embossed with foliate scrolls and a vacant shield cartouche hallmarked Birmingham 1894 with the maker's mark that of Frederick Wald. A beautiful amber ending which pulls in and out. Purchased in Paris from the family of the proprietor of the Hotel d'Alsace Jean Dupoirer sometime before 1914. From the colllection of David Adamson a mining engineer and great-grandfather of the original seller at Bonhams Knightsbridge 1997 who had a life-long admiration for Wilde's work. The renowned Irish playwright and poet died on November 30 1900 at the Hotel d'Alsace in Paris now L'Hôtel. After serving two years of hard labor for "gross indecency" due to his homosexuality Wilde fled to France impoverished and shunned by society. Living under the name Sebastian Melmoth he took up residence at the modest hotel. His health declined rapidly due to meningitis complications from an earlier ear infection. Wilde reportedly quipped on his deathbed "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go." He passed away destitute but surrounded by a few loyal friends. Wilde was initially buried in a pauper's grave at Bagneux Cemetery but his remains were later moved to Père Lachaise Cemetery where his tomb adorned with a modernist angel now draws admirers from around the world. His wit and tragedy remain enduring symbols of artistic genius and societal hypocrisy. A unique item now housed in a custom made box Methuen unknown
116713London Elkin Mathews and John Lane 1893. . First edition one of 50 large paper copies; small 4to 23 x 18 cm; ownership signature to limitation page some browning to endpapers; publisher's straw coloured buckram with gilt decorations by Charles Ricketts gilt lettering to spine spine browned very slight wear at head and foot of spine; a near-fine copy housed in custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slip-case.<br /> One of 50 large paper copies of Wilde's four-act comedy first performed on Saturday 20 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. Like many of Wilde's plays it bitingly satirises the morals of society.<br /> Mason 358. London, Elkin Mathews and John Lane, 1893. hardcover
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
04564London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head 1893. I can resist anything except temptation"<br/>"Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about"<br/><br/>WILDE Oscar. Lady Windermere's Fan. A Play About a Good Woman. London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head 1893. <br/><br/>First edition. One of fifty large-paper copies on hand-made paper. <br/><br/>Quarto 8 5/8 x 6 5/8 inches; 220 x 169 mm. i blank i limitation iii-xvi 132 pp. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>A couple of tiny and unobtrusive minor stains on blank borders otherwise an absolutely fine copy in a wonderful and early if somewhat austere binding by the great firm of Zaehnsdorf.<br/><br/>Lady Windermere's Fan A Play About a Good Woman is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde first performed on Saturday 20 February 1892 at the St. James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere who suspects that her husband is having an affair with another woman. She confronts him with it but although he denies it he invites the other woman Mrs Erlynne to his wife's birthday ball. Angered by her husband's supposed unfaithfulness Lady Windermere decides to leave her husband for another lover. After discovering what has transpired Mrs Erlynne follows Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband and in the course of this Mrs Erlynne is discovered in a compromising position. It is then revealed Mrs Erlynne is Lady Windermere's mother who abandoned her family twenty years before the time the play is set. Mrs Erlynne sacrifices herself and her reputation to save her daughter's marriage.<br/><br/>Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde 16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900 was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays including Lady Windermere's Fan A Play About a Good Woman his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for homosexuality imprisonment and early death at age 46.<br/><br/>Mason 358. London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head, 1893 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
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
190767715Edition De Luxe One of 200 Copies With Plates in Two States WILDE Oscar. The Writings of Oscar Wilde. Illustrated. London: A. R. Keller & Co. 1907. Edition de Luxe of the Uniform Edition. One of 200 numbered copies of which this is number 14. Complete in fifteen octavo volumes. Measures 7 1/4 x 5 in. Illustrated in black and white with plates in two states each with a descriptive tissue guard. Title and limitation pages on Japanese vellum printed in black and red with additional engraved title pages in each volume. Finely bound in modern full green levant morocco. Spines tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments with a red morocco gilt floral inlay four raised bands all edges gilt marbled endpapers. A fine set. This very early edition precedes the 1908 Ross edition of Wilde's works often described as the first collected edition. HBS 67715. $11500 A. R. Keller & Co. hardcover books
190767715London: A. R. Keller & Co 1907. The Writings of Oscar Wilde. Illustrated. London: A. R. Keller & Co. 1907.<br> <br> Edition de Luxe of the Uniform Edition. One of 200 numbered copies of which this is number 14. Complete in fifteen octavo volumes. Measures 7 1/4 x 5 in. Illustrated in black and white with plates in two states each with a descriptive tissue guard. Title and limitation pages on Japanese vellum printed in black and red with additional engraved title pages in each volume.<br> <br> Finely bound in modern full green levant morocco. Spines tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments with a red morocco gilt floral inlay four raised bands all edges gilt marbled endpapers. A fine set.<br> <br> This very early edition precedes the 1908 Ross edition of Wilde's works often described as the first collected edition.<br> <br> HBS 67715.<br> <br> $11500. A. R. Keller & Co unknown
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
122321London David Nutt 1888. . First edition one of 1000 copies; large 8vo 230 x 175 mm; half-title frontispiece and 2 plates by Walter Crane decorative head- and tail-pieces occasional spotting heaviest to half-title tissue guard to frontispiece short closed tear to front free endpaper small loss to upper margin of p. 51 not affecting text auctioneers slip laid in; publisher's Japanese vellum boards spine lettered in black and lightly rubbed upper cover printed in red and black with illustration by Jacomb Hood boards toned a few small marks on lower cover corners gently bumped some edges unopened in a chemise and green morocco-backed slipcase; x 116 2pp.<br /> A particularly good copy of the first appearance of five of Wilde's classic fairy tales for children comprising: The Happy Prince The Nightingale and the Rose The Selfish Giant The Devoted Friend and The Remarkable Rocket.<br /> Mason 313. London, David Nutt, 1888. 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
1907187979London: Keller-Farmer Co. 1907. It lies like a leper in purple it sits like a dead thing smeared with gold The Uniform Edition the illustrated Edition De Luxe issue number 152 of 200 sets this one in unusual vibrant purple bindings. This is the most limited issue of this very early collected edition of Wilde's works. 15 vols octavo 165 x 140 mm. Frontispieces with tissue guards captioned in red plates throughout illustrated title pages letterpress title pages printed in red and black. Contemporary purple crushed morocco spines lettered in gilt compartments tooled with central tool in gilt purple cloth sides and endpapers top edges gilt fore and bottom edges uncut. Bindings bright rubbing sometime retouched with iridescent polish slight loss to corner of Salome hinge cracked but holding at p. 12 of Epigrams very mild occasional foxing. A near-fine set. hardcover
1930ru1157Société des amis du livre moderne Relié sous emboîtage 1930 TIRAGE LIMITE -- EXEMPLAIRE ENRICHI D'AQUARELLES ORIGINALES. In-4 (22 x 29 cm), belle reliure signée Max Fonsèque, plein maroquin bleu-gris, dos lisse orné du titre doré, motifs géométriques dorés aux plats, maroquin turquoise et gris-bleu encadrés de filets dorés aux contreplats, gardes de soir brochée dorée, tranches dorées, couverture et dos conservés. L'ouvrage est protégé par un emboîtage composé d'un étui carton dont les angles et l'ouverture sont bordés du même maroquin gris-bleu, et d'une chemise à rabats demi-maroquin à bandes avec le titre et l'auteur dorés au dos. Beau livre illustré de 26 gravures en couleurs dont un cul-de-lampe d'après les compositions de Manuel Orazi (1860-1934, peintre et affichiste italien, mais également créateur de bijoux), gravées sur bois par Pierre Bouchet. TIRAGE LIMITE A 149 EEMPLAIRES (ici le n°88, réservé à Albert Natural). Exemplaire enrichi de 3 AQUARELLES ORIGINALES rehaussée de gouache signées Manuel Orazi, d'une SUITE EN NOIR DES ILLUSTRATIONS SUR JAPON, et du menu du dîner du 25 mars 1931 de la Société des amis du livre moderne, illustré d'une gravure originale en couleurs d'Orazi ; très bel exemplaire. Livraison a domicile (La Poste) ou en Mondial Relay sur simple demande.