Description

Roy. 4to., First Limited Illustrated Edition, Large Paper, with coloured frontispiece and 7 fine coloured plates, all tipped-in to gilt framed platemarks on Japan vellum leaves (all original captioned tissue guards present), minimal dust-browning to fore-edges, free endpapers very faintly spotted; decorative white parchment gilt, covers blocked in gilt to a floral design enclosing author and title lettered in gilt, back gilt extra, gilt top, uncut, covers a little age-soiled (as is inevitable with this binding), two corners bruised, hinges starting (but binding entirely sound), a very good, clean copy. EDITION LIMITED TO 160 NUMBERED COPIES (THIS COPY NO. 72). With a charming contemporary inscription written in a neat hand on front paste-down. The first illustrated edition (with artwork by Waite) was published simultaneously in November 1912 in two forms: the standard trade edition in cloth and this de luxe limited edition. As a result of the considerably larger format, the plates here are mounted in landscape format that places them the correct way up, rather than sideways-on in the trade edition. Miller & Matthews, B18.31