First edition of these Irish verses about fairies, with beautiful Art Nouveau designs by Housman carrying distinct notes of Beardsley's style.
Very good plus.
Price: $750.00
"Housman was guilty of bibliographical passions and was attuned to the ways in which the book might be produced as a total work of art." – Lorraine Janzen Kooistra
Housman scholar Rodney K. Engen calls this Housman's "first important fairy illustration commission" and ranks it "among his best known work" – though such avant-garde fairies came as a bit of a shock to a Victorian audience used to twee Little Folk, with one contemporary review calling Housman's versions "too much like ill-fed human beings" (Saturday Review, 6 April 1895). In addition to Aubrey Beardsley, Housman also drew inspiration from the designs of Charles Ricketts. Like his earlier commissioned work, Christina Rossetti's GOBLIN MARKET, he designed the unusual long and thin size of this volume specifically to accommodate the length of Barlow's verses, a format that would become characteristic among fin-de-siècle book designers.
Read more: Garvey, Smith & Wick, The turn of a century, 1885-1910: Art Nouveau-Jugendstil books, 23; John Taylor, Art Nouveau Book In Britain, 106-7; Engen, Laurence Housman, 65-68; Kooistra, Christina Rossetti and Illustration<br />A Publishing History, 84.
London: Macmillan & Co, 1894. Octavo. 7'' x 4.25''. Original light brown cloth elaborately stamped in gilt with design by Housman. All edges gilt. Illustrated by Housman with pictorial title page, 8 full-page illustrations, and several illustrations in-text. [4], 77, [1] pages. Offsetting to endpapers, some cracking to rear hinge but holding firm, interior largely clean. Gilt a little rubbed in top left corner of front board, spine slightly toned.
We work hard to meet our ethical responsibility to describe our material accurately. All items are guaranteed as described and may be returned for any reason within 30 days. Please notify us before mailing a return.
We guarantee the authenticity of our items. All materials are original (meaning not facsimiles or reproductions) unless otherwise noted. First editions (meaning first edition, first printing) are explicitly stated. TPM is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and upholds their Code of Ethics.
All photographs are of the actual item for sale. We're happy to provide additional images on request.
All domestic orders ship gratis. For orders under $250, free USPS media mail shipping is included; orders $250 and over ship USPS Priority. International orders over $500 also ship gratis. Expedited, overnight, as well as other carriers (UPS, Fed-Ex, etc.), may carry additional costs beyond quoted rates. All orders receive tracking information and a direct contact in case of any questions.
International buyers are responsible for any customs, taxes, and related import fees. Please note that we are unable to accomodate requests to misrepresent, misdeclare, or otherwise falsify customs documents when shipping internationally. We appreciate your understanding.
We accept all major credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, check, money order, and bank wire. We are happy to bill institutional buyers' needs. Sales tax will be added to applicable purchases. Items subject to prior sale.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase, please contact us. We prioritize our long-term relationships far above any individual purchase, and we want you to love your item as much as we loved cataloguing it.
Type Punch Matrix is a Washington D.C.-area rare book firm founded by Rebecca Romney and Brian Cassidy.
Read more about TPM.
