Romance

8vo., Second Edition, with an engraved frontispiece, illustrated title in red and black, 6 fine wood-engraved plates FINELY COLOURED BY HAND and 26 engraved illustrations in the text, wanting front free endpaper, frontispiece and title lightly spotted; original pictorial red coarse-grain cloth, upper board elaborately blocked with multiple frame border in gilt and blind enclosing jester and title all in gilt, gilt back, gilt edges, bevelled boards, yellow endpapers, covers moderately age-soiled, corners scuffed, joints somewhat rubbed with one short tear, gathering cracked at F6-7 (but binding wholly sound) else a firm, tight copy. With Westley's binder's ticket on rear paste-down. Mackenzie's version of the German mediaeval classic was first published in 1860 as a Christmas volume, but stocks were swiftly exhausted and a second edition prepared to meet continuing demand. Mackenzie produced a lengthy additional preface to this second edition, attributing the success of the venture partly to 'the generous and unanimous verdict of the press' but also, surely, to the wonderful illustrations by 'Alfred Crowquill' (A.H. Forrester). Many would-be Christmas readers must have been disappointed for Mazkenzie dates his preface Christmas Eve, but scholars of mediaeval romance and fantasy will find this a most useful edition replete with extensive historical preface and bibliographical and other scholarly appendices. The US edition (T&F of Boston) of the same year is the first American edition of the tale in English. Scarce.