Search Results: a house of pomegranates the design by wilde oscar

London: James R. Osgood McIlvaine & Co, 1891. First Edition. Hardcover. Good +. Octavo. Pp. 158, partially unopened. Cover, title-page, endpapers, and textual ornaments designed by Charles Ricketts, 4 full-page illustrations by Shannon, which, because of the "mysterious and disastrous process by which they were reproduced in Paris" are quite faint. (see Muir "Victorian Illustrated Books" p. 191) Backed in apple-green linen with lettering by Ricketts over beige coloured boards with gilt design of a peacock, fountain, and basket of pomegranates. Covers a bit darkened, corners rubbed, hinges weakened with paper cracked, endpapers slightly darkened, engraved bookplate on the front pastedown with the monogram engraved on the plate of R.E 1899, otherwise interior clean and bright.

London: James R. Osgood McIlvaine & Co.,, 1891. A handsomely illustrated and richly produced collection of Wilde's fairy-stories First edition, one of 1,000 copies. This is an attractive copy of Wilde's collection of fairy-stories. The rich illustrations by the noted Art Nouveau designers Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon are often found distinctly faded - in this copy they are notably well-defined. Stuart Mason notes that "After the book was finished and bound it was noticed that a dusty deposit had formed on each plate... to take off this deposit each plate was rubbed with soft flannel, which removed the surface and left the reproductions faint and in some cases almost obliterated" (p. 365). A House of Pomegranates contains "more ornate fairy-stories than the Happy Prince collection and more directly socialist" (ODNB). Quarto. Original green cloth-backed pale brown boards, spine and front cover lettered and decorated in gilt, front cover elaborately decorated and lettered in orange, light… Read More