{"product_id":"aubrey-beardsley-sir-thomas-malory-le-morte-darthur-1893-94-first-edition-in-the-rare-original-12-parts","title":"Aubrey Beardsley \/ Sir Thomas Malory — Le Morte Darthur, 1893–94 — First Edition in the Rare Original 12 Parts","description":"\u003ch3 class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eTitle\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAubrey Beardsley \/ Sir Thomas Malory — \u003cem\u003eLe Morte Darthur\u003c\/em\u003e, 1893–94 — First Edition in the Rare Original 12 Parts\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBEARDSLEY, AUBREY VINCENT, illustrator (1872–1898); MALORY, SIR THOMAS.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eLe Morte Darthur: The Birth, Life and Acts of King Arthur, of His Noble Knights of the Round Table...\u003c\/em\u003e London: J. M. Dent \u0026amp; Co., 1893–94.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFirst edition, complete in the original twelve separately issued parts\u003c\/strong\u003e, preserving Beardsley’s great Arthurian masterpiece in the scarce form in which it was first published.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwelve parts, quarto, in the original blue-gray pictorial wrappers decorated after Beardsley, with full-page and double-page illustrations, ornamental borders, decorated initials, chapter headings, head- and tail-pieces, and hundreds of additional designs throughout. Housed in protective slipcases.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLe Morte Darthur\u003c\/em\u003e was \u003cstrong\u003eAubrey Beardsley’s first major commission and the work that established his reputation at barely twenty years of age\u003c\/strong\u003e. Commissioned by J. M. Dent as an answer to the elaborate productions of William Morris and the Kelmscott Press, the project occupied Beardsley for approximately eighteen months and resulted in an extraordinary body of graphic work: two photogravure frontispieces, eighteen full-page wood-engravings—including five double-page compositions—and approximately \u003cstrong\u003e350 designs for borders, initials, headings and decorations\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe illustrations represent the emergence of the unmistakable visual language now associated with Beardsley: dense black-and-white contrasts, sinuous line, Japanese influence, grotesque fantasy and a distinctly modern reinterpretation of medieval imagery. The project helped move Arthurian illustration away from the prevailing Pre-Raphaelite tradition and toward the radical graphic style that would define the 1890s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eRare in the Original Parts\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe survival of a complete set in its \u003cstrong\u003etwelve original wrappers is considerably scarcer than copies encountered in bound form\u003c\/strong\u003e. Upon completion of the serial publication, subscribers were offered publisher-supplied binding cases or encouraged to return their parts to Dent for binding. Consequently, many sets lost their original wrappers altogether, while the fragile surviving wrappered sets are frequently incomplete or heavily worn. Specialist booksellers specifically note that original-parts sets are seldom encountered and that most surviving examples were either subsequently bound or suffered substantial wrapper deterioration. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ordinary issue consisted of \u003cstrong\u003e1,500 copies\u003c\/strong\u003e, alongside a separate superior issue of only 300 copies printed on Van Gelder paper. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGordon N. Ray famously considered the Malory designs among Beardsley’s finest achievements, and the work is now recognized as one of the landmarks of fin-de-siècle book illustration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Some chipping and small losses to the fragile wrapper spines, with scattered soiling and occasional light spotting internally, as expected for a set preserved in its original serial format. Despite these faults, the complete survival of all twelve parts in their original wrappers is the defining virtue of the set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA highly desirable example of \u003cstrong\u003eone of the foundational illustrated books of the 1890s\u003c\/strong\u003e, preserved in the substantially rarer original serial state rather than in the later bound configuration.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Breething Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48220451111142,"sku":"BB-000041","price":9500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/7931\/5942\/files\/b_15ff7e05-f9b4-4f49-892e-42f1119e6de9.jpg?v=1787331609","url":"https:\/\/www.breethingbooks.com\/products\/aubrey-beardsley-sir-thomas-malory-le-morte-darthur-1893-94-first-edition-in-the-rare-original-12-parts","provider":"Breething Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}