Arthur Rackham, William Shakespeare / Midsummer-Night's Dream 1st Edition 1908

Description: A Midsummer-Night's Dream Author: Rackham, Arthur (illustrator); William Shakespeare Title: A Midsummer-Night's Dream Publication: London: William Heinemann, 1908 Edition: Trade edition Description: A nearly Fine copy maintaining 40 color plates on tan paper. Rebound in light grey crushed morocco, front cover inset with square piece of original gilt publisher's cloth, 6 raised compartment spine with gilt title, gilt ruling on front and back boards, and grey endpapers. Minimal wear to exterior with small spots of staining on half title, and offsetting from plates onto tissue guards, rest of interior bright and clean."Within twelve months appeared Shakespeare's A Midsummer-Night's Dream, De la Motte Fouqué's Undine, and the Grimm brothers' Fairy Tales, all very different in quality and feeling, as demanded by the texts, but all of extremely high quality. The Dream was, of course, an almost perfect setting for Rackham's devic imagination...with the result that some of the fairies, elves and goblins he created for this play are among his finest colour images, and almost all the plates echo perfectly the mysterious interweaving of lightness and depth in this great work. Many of the formal plates are exquisite, whether they depict the principal events of the main theme of the story, such as the translated Bottom with his ass-head mocked by tree sprites, or the night-rule of Titania's haunted grove, those incidents within the subsidiary action, with details hardly dreamed of by Shakespeare, such as the gnomish knife-grinder in a motley group of fairies. Some of the floriated headings for the Dream are the finest of Rackham's line at the time, as for example the heading vignette for Act One, Scene One, which with typical Rackham irrelevance spreads its tendrils over the page, and into the text, ignoring the fact that the setting is supposed, according to Shakespeare, to be the Palace of Theseus, and throwing us immediately into a tangle-wood Rackhamerie, with mice, pixies and a sleeping maiden" (Gettings).Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is perhaps the most acclaimed and influential illustrator of the Golden Age of Illustration. A prolific artist even from his youth, Rackham got his start as an illustrator working for the Westminster Budget Newspaper (1892). Over the next few years, he took on more and more commissions for children's books, hitting his career high in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rackham turned his imaginative pen to every classic—from Shakespeare to Dickens to Poe.Riall 87. Near Fine Seller ID: 6522 Subject: Fine Bindings and Sets, Gift Ideas, Illustrated Books, Literature Whitmore Rare Books was founded in 2010 with the aim of drawing together exceptional first editions of important literary works. Over the past several years, the shop has become a world-class destination for both seasoned collectors as well as those people newly discovering the field. WRB maintains a reputation for rigorous research and integrity, for discriminating taste, and for creating a space where collectors can interact with amazing copies of the books they love. Terms All orders ship within three business days. All items are guaranteed to be as described or they may be returned within 14 days of receipt for a full refund.This listing was created by Bibliopolis.

Price: 500 USD

Location: Pasadena, California

End Time: 2024-11-16T14:52:34.000Z

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