303 résultats
1899158271899. Shannon Charles. By the Author of Lady Windermere's Fan. London: Leonard Smithers and Co. 1899. Original mauve cloth decorated in gilt.<br/> <br/> First Edition consisting of 1000 regular copies so stated; there were also 100 signed copies on Van Gelder paper plus twelve signed copies on Japan vellum. This was the fourth and last of Wilde's four great comedies of manners -- following LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN published in 1893 A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE 1894 and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST 1899 five months earlier. "An Ideal Husband" had opened at the Theatre Royal on 3 January 1895 the actors had been quite annoyed that Wilde required them to rehearse on Christmas Day only to keep them waiting for him to appear. It was an immediate success but it was while "Earnest" and "Husband" were running that Wilde inadvisably filed suit against the Marquess of Queensberry father of Wilde's lover Lord Alfred Douglas for criminal libel; this quickly morphed into a charge of "gross indecency" against Wilde and when he was arrested in April his plays closed. Sentenced to two years' hard labour 1895-1897 upon his release he fled to France -- where he resided when this book was published. The artistic binding design is by Charles Shannon. This is a very good copy of a book that is difficult to find in any better condition: the spine is rather dull and there is moderate cover soil. Mason 385. Provenance: the front endpaper bears the signature "Wilmer C. France 1899". The pioneering female classicist Emily Wilmer Cave France 1868-1951 married name Wright after 1906 was born in Birmingham England and educated first at Girton College Cambridge then at the University of Chicago -- where she was a Fellow in Latin and in Greek while earning her Ph.D.; from 1897 until her retirement in 1933 which span includes the date this book was published she was a Professor in Greek at Bryn Mawr College. In 2022 the Cambridge Philological Society published a monograph by D.N. Greenwood about her "Steely-Eyed Athena: Wilmer Cave Wright and the Advent of Female Classicists. unknown
1899ST19154London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. FIRST EDITION. ONE OF 1000 COPIES. 215 x 155 mm. 8 3/8 x 6". 8 p.l. 213 1 pp. <br/> Original lavender cloth decorated with gilt flourishes smooth spine with gilt lettering edges untrimmed and ENTIRELY UNOPENED. Mason 385. ◆Spine slightly sunned as virtually always but no wear to joints or hinges and in all A REMARKABLY WELL-PRESERVED OBVIOUSLY UNREAD COPY because unopened and without the soiling this edition is almost always found with.<br/> <br/> This is an exceptionally fine copy of Wilde's second hit play successful like his other witty comedies but with at least slightly more serious social and political content. Opening at the Haymarket Theatre in 1895 and continuing for 124 performances it features as the title character a prominent politician in danger of losing his reputation because of a potentially damaging letter that the play's villain threatens to expose if the husband refuses to support the former's corrupt political agenda. The play moves its characters toward a more ideal moral standard as they struggle with dishonesty hypocrisy double standards materialism and corruption of social and political life. But none of this weighs down Wilde's witty banter as the play suggests after all that even when there is a pretense of the embrace of moral probity nobody is ever that good or is even expected to be. The work is dedicated to the Irish-American writer Frank Harris who is said to have given Wilde the idea to use insider trading which related to Disraeli's financial machinations as part of the plot here. Covering the play for the "Saturday Review" George Bernard Shaw declared Wilde 1854-1900 "our only thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit with philosophy with drama with actors and audience with the whole theatre." On nearly all copies of this edition the publisher's binding is now encountered in unappetizing condition; finding our unopened copy--with virtually none of the soiling almost always seen with the four Wilde plays bound in this lavender cloth--is piece of very good fortune. Leonard Smithers and Co unknown
189919047Limited printing first edition 1000. Very Good hardcover no DJ. Brown-red linen over boards gilt stamped foliate design on front cover and spine; gilt titles on spine. Clean square lightly scuffed covers and spine; spine gilt somewhat dulled; tightly bound; title page unopened at top edge; clean interior but for some darkening perhaps from oil affecting approx 25 pp. 8vo 213 pp. London: Leonard Smithers and Co. hardcover
189928234London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. First edition. Hardcover. Good overall. A limited printing of the first edition 1000. <br /> <br /> In 1996 critic Bindon Russell wrote in "The Wildean" that "An Ideal Husband" is "the most autobiographical of Wilde's plays mirroring as it does his own situation of a double life and an incipient scandal with the emergence of terrible secrets. Whilst Lord Goring is a character with much of Wilde's own wit insight and compassion Gertrude Chiltern can be seen as a portrait of Constance Wilde." <br /> <br /> 8vo 213pp brown-red linen over boards gilt stamped decoration on front cover and spine; gilt titles on spine. Spine rebacked with the original spine laid down. With bookplates of Herschel V. Jones and Alfred and Sara Bernheim. Internally clean some pages uncut. Leonard Smithers and Co hardcover
1899182530London: Leonard Smithers and Co. 1899. I really think it reads the best of my plays First edition trade issue one of 1000 copies. Wilde's political comedy premiered at the Haymarket on 3 January 1895 and ran until 6 April. His arrest the day before the production closed precipitated his "utter social destruction" ODNB and the play was not published in book form until two years after his release from prison. An Ideal Husband led George Bernard Shaw to hail Wilde as "our only thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit with philosophy with drama with actors and audience with the whole theatre" Saturday Review 12 January 1895. Wilde himself wrote to the publisher stating that "I really think it reads the best of my plays" cited in Nelson p. 392. The edition also included 100 signed copies on large paper and 12 on Japanese vellum reserved for presentation. Small quarto. Original pink linen with gilt floral motifs after designs by Charles Shannon spine lettered in gilt fore and bottom edges uncut. Bookplate of the collector and Steinbeck bibliographer Adrian Homer Goldstone 1897-1977. Spine cocked and sunned extremities bumped occasional patches of rubbing contents foxed. A very good copy. Mason 385. James G. Nelson Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley Wilde Dowson 2000. hardcover
1899186774London: Leonard Smithers and Co. 1899. I really think it reads the best of my plays First edition trade issue one of 1000 copies. Wilde's political comedy premiered at the Haymarket on 3 January 1895 and ran until 6 April. His arrest the day before the production closed precipitated his "utter social destruction" ODNB and the play was not published in book form until two years after his release from prison. The edition also included 100 signed copies on large paper and 12 on Japanese vellum reserved for presentation. Quarto. Original pink cloth spine lettered in gilt stylized leaf motifs by Charles Shannon in gilt to spine and covers edges untrimmed. Bookplate of one W. A. S. Ray. Spine sunned and a little soiled closed tears to upper margins of half-title and title page neatly repaired. A very good copy. Mason 385. James G. Nelson Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley Wilde Dowson 2000. hardcover
1899159879London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. Wilde's favourite play with an appealing association First edition one of 1000 copies printed presented in the year of publication from Lady Lewis the wife of Wilde's solicitor to their mutual friend the actress Elizabeth Robins. Lewis has inscribed the front free endpaper: "With love from Beth. Lewis. Aug. 6th 99 Vulpera"; Robins's ownership inscription is on the half-title: "Elizabeth Robins from Lady Lewis Waldhaus Tarasp Switzerland". Waldhaus Vulpera was a popular Grand Hotel in the Swiss Alps. Elizabeth Lewis née Eberstadt was the second wife of Wilde's long-time friend and legal adviser Sir George Lewis 1833-1911. A discreet and astute solicitor he advised Wilde on various occasions and on his request represented Lord Alfred Douglas in 1983 to recover an incriminating letter from a blackmailer. Richard Ellman Wilde's biographer mentions a series of letters sent by Wilde to her during his lecture tour of North America in which he boasted about his various successes. The American actress and feminist Elizabeth Robins 1862-1952 is best known for her play Votes for Women! which is credited with inaugurating suffrage drama. Wilde met her for the first time at a reception at Lady Seton's House in 1888 and subsequently used his influence to help her gain success on the London stage. He gave her feedback on her performances throughout her career. Oscar Wilde's third comedy An Ideal Husband premiered at the Haymarket on 3 January 1895 preceding his sensational trial but was not published until after his release from prison. In a letter to his publisher Leonard Smithers Wilde wrote that "I really think it reads the best of my plays" cited in Nelson p. 392. Quarto. Original pink cloth flat spine lettered in gilt leaf motifs to spine and covers designed by Charles Shannon edges untrimmed. Spine and head of rear cover sunned cloth otherwise bright spine ends and tips slightly rubbed and bumped tiny mark to front cover offsetting to endpapers a few spots of foxing to half-title otherwise generally clean. A very good fresh copy. Mason p. 433; James G. Nelson Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley Wilde Dowson 2000. hardcover
189916609JLondon: Leonard Smithers 1899. First Edition. Bookplate of noted writer and book collector Carroll Atwood Wilson. Laid in this copy are two printed in-house reports sheets from the Theatre Royal Haymarket from the play’s first run of 124 performances. Handwritten in ink are the sums tallying the box office receipts for the 93rd and 94th performances of An Ideal Husband on March 23 1895. The matinee brought in 82 pounds and the evening performance totaled 144 pounds. Remarkably this copy still has the pages unopened and intact. Slight chipping at top of spine else very good. Leonard Smithers 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. 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
1899WILDEOSC107084Leonard Smithers London. 1899. First edition. Octavo. pp xvi 213. One of 1000 copies. Original gilt decorated cloth. A drama in four acts.Bookplate on front pastedown. Covers marked and rubbed at head and tail of spine. Possible water-staining to the lower half of the spine. Endpapers faintly spotted. Very good. Leonard Smithers, London. hardcover
1899WE16717London: Leonard Smithers 1899. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. London 1899: Leonard Smithers and Co. First edition one of 1000 copies only. Octavo. Lavender cloth decorated in gilt and with spine lettering gilt. Fore edges uncut. 213 pp. A tight example very good with three very small chips along the rear gutter edge and a approximately ½†square chip to the rear area of the foot of the spine strip. Leonard Smithers hardcover
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
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
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
189912241JLondon: Leonard Smithers 1899. First Edition. One of 1000 numbered copies. Original lavender gilt-stamped and decorated cloth. Ownership inscription and bookplates of Chauncey Lawrence Williams and Scott Cunningham on the front pastedown. A little trace of sunning to spine with some rubbing near bottom of spine some dust-soiling to the boards else a very good copy. Leonard Smithers 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. 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
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
18991232028vo. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. 8vo 213 1 imprintpp. Original salmon cloth stamped in gold backstrip dull internally very good. Wilmerding bookpate upside down in back. § First edition one of 1000 copies. “Although Wilde's third play opened in 1895 it was not published until four years later and after Wilde had been released from prison. The success of The Ballad of Reading Gaol persuaded Wilde to publish his last two plays the other being The Importance of Being Ernest. All three were published by Leonard Smithers one of very few remaining publishers prepared to handle Wilde's work†Sotheby’s. Mason 385. "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance". Leonard Smithers hardcover books
18991099238vo. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. 8vo 213 1 imprintpp. Original salmon cloth stamped in gold one corner creased slightest of soiling to covers ink signature at front “Winifred M.F. Carritt Christmas 1900â€. Blue quarter morocco slipcase. § First edition one of 1000 copies. “Although Wilde's third play opened in 1895 it was not published until four years later and after Wilde had been released from prison. The success of The Ballad of Reading Gaol persuaded Wilde to publish his last two plays the other being The Importance of Being Ernest. All three were published by Leonard Smithers one of very few remaining publishers prepared to handle Wilde's work.†Sotheby’s. Mason 385. Leonard Smithers hardcover books
18901766148232BABWard and Downey 1890. Hardcover. Acceptable. 1890. First Edition. 256 pages. This is an ex-Library book. Quarter bound brown leather with burgundy cloth covered boards. Book has been rebound by library with expected inserts stamps and inscriptions. Reading copy only. Severe cracking to front hinge and gutters; boards is almost detached. Binding throughout loose with text block split in places. Water staining to bottom edge of pages 27-146 text is unaffected. Noticeable markings and some staining to pages throughout. Small pencil annotations to some pages. Very loose binding. Text is legible. Occasional tears to pages. Boards have heavy edge wear with corner bumping. Heavy loss to spine. Leather along spine split with large areas of loss; leather peeling heavily with scuffing. Water marks to front board. Visible markings and staining overall. Fraying to corners. Book is slightly bowed and forward leaning. Ward and Downey hardcover
188878557Boston:: Ticknor and Company 1888. First American edition. publisher's brown cloth with printed paper label on spine. The spine label is tanned with shallow chipping at the edges and a few abrasions; shallow use at extremities of spine; clean tight and sound. 12mo. To Which is Appended a Chapter on "The Ancient Race of Ireland." by the Late Sir William Wilde. Lady Jane Wild was the mother of Oscar Wilde. Ticknor and Company, hardcover
1894182551Oxford: J. Vincent; Simpkin Marshall Hamilton Kent & Co. London 1894. An uncommon parody of Wilde First edition one of 750 copies of this Oxford play satirizing Oscar Wilde. The authors of this anonymous parody an entertaining imitation of the classical Greek comedy of Aristophanes were three Oxford undergraduates. Leopold Amery 1873-1955 later a prominent journalist and conservative politician. Francis Wrigley Hirst 1873-1953 later a successful journalist editor of The Economist and biographer of Thomas Jefferson. Little is known about Henry Alford Antony Cruso besides that he published another drama in 1907. The initialism Y.T.O. comprises the last letter of their surnames. The student-authors were motivated by "an honest dislike for Dorian Gray Salome The Yellow Book and the whole of the erotic lack-a-daisical opium-cigarette literature of the day". The play was published in 1894 just before Wilde's arrest and trial when he was at the height of his fame. Octavo. Original buff wrappers rebacked front cover lettered in green. Wrappers a little marked and soiled spot to prelims leaves unopened. A very good copy. Mason 685. unknown
1894191028Oxford: J. Vincent; Simpkin Marshall Hamilton Kent & Co. London 1894. An uncommon parody of Wilde First edition one of 750 copies of this Oxford play satirizing Oscar Wilde. The authors of this anonymous parody an entertaining imitation of the classical Greek comedy of Aristophanes were three Oxford undergraduates. Leopold Amery 1873-1955 later a prominent journalist and conservative politician. Francis Wrigley Hirst 1873-1953 later a successful journalist editor of The Economist and biographer of Thomas Jefferson. Little is known about Henry Alford Antony Cruso besides that he published another drama in 1907. The initialism Y.T.O. comprises the last letter of their surnames. Octavo. Original buff wrappers front cover lettered in green. Housed in a custom green cloth slipcase. Booklabel of Timothy D'Arch Smith b. 1936 the British author and co-founder of Victim Press; illustrated bookplate of Jeremy J. Mason designed by David Ward and dated 1974 on initial leaf. Spine a little chipped wrappers toned and soiled edges nicked sporadic foxing. A good copy. Mason 685. hardcover
180211231Leipzig, [ohne Drucker], 1802. 12° (15-18,5 cm). 136, 160 SS. Pappeinband der Zeit
1899biblio3<p>This printing of Oscar Wilde's <em>Ballad of Reading Gaol </em>was published on 23 June 1899 under the pseudonym C.3.3. his prison cell number. <em>Mustard boards with white cloth spine. Condition: In very good condition. </em><em>Light soiling to original publisher's two-tone mustard and white cloth boards and spine. Seventh </em>printing of Leonard Smithers 1899 Edition 8°. 31 pages. It was the first to reveal the author's identity putting the name Oscar Wilde in square brackets under his cell number on the title page. Mason Stuart 1914; new ed. 1972 <em>Bibliography of Oscar Wilde</em>. Rota pub; Haskell House pgs. 408–423.</p> Leonard Smithers hardcover