The Birth Life and Acts of King Arthur of His Noble Knights of the Round Table Their Marvellous Enquests and Adventures the Achieving of the San Greal and in the End Le Morte Darthur with the Delourous Death and Departing Out of This World of Them All

London: J.M. Dent, 1893. Two volumes complete, 1893-4 - Volume One - [9], x-xc, [1], 2-455pp, [1]; Volume Two - [9], 458-990pp, [2]. Contemporary full vellucent vellum bindings by Cedric Chivers of Bath, with their pallet to lower turn-in of the second volume. Smooth backs, spines with hand painted title and floriated devices, upper covers with designs after Beardsley's originals within each volume, first volume with a version of 'Arthur and the Strange Mantle' (page 132), and the second volume with the first half of 'How Sir Launcelot was Known by Dame Elaine' (page 670), lower covers with two single line gilt frames, t.e.g., marbled endpapers. Very mildly ex-library, with a discreet blind stamp to frontispiece and title of second volume, tiny number in ink to reverse of each title, occasional light browning, some minor staining from a paper clip to prelims of first volume, title and frontispiece of second volume lightly browned, but generally quite bright and clean. First volume with a photogravure frontispiece and eleven full page drawings by Beardsley, the second volume with a photogravure frontispiece and seven (five double page) drawings by Beardsley (as called for). A handsome set of the 'ordinary' issue of fifteen hundred copies, originally issued in parts, and then bound in two volumes, with a 'special' issue on Van Gelder paper and bound in three volumes. See Cole, 'Aspire to the Beautiful', page 83, with a variant design; Life 124; Samuels Lasner 22. Signed Binding. First Thus. Hardback. Good+. Illus. by Beardsley, Aubrey. 4to.