HERO AND LEANDER.
London: Printed by the Ballantyne Press for Elkin Mathews and John Lane, 1894.
Octavo. Limited edition, one of 220 copies, 200 of which were for sale. Original full vellum, spine and boards decorated in a minimalist rectilinear gilt design by Charles Ricketts. Edges untrimmed. Vellum boards slightly discolored with age but remarkably flat; gilt bright, a bit faded on spine from handling. Mild foxing to preliminary leaf; some expansion of the front pastedown, neat undeciphered contemporary ownership signature and date “1904” on first free endpaper. The publication was in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Aldine edition of the myth.
A seminal pre-Vale Press milestone, begun at their eponymously named home in Chelsea in 1893, featuring seven "white-line" woodcuts by Charles Ricketts (5) and Charles Shannon (2). Neatly tucked below the vellum binding’s final gilt tooling, are integrated "CR" (Ricketts) in the left-most corner and the "HL" in the right-most corner, the latter being the indicator of master trade binder Henry Leighton. Above, framed by two palm leaves, are the date M.DCCC.XC.IV, and the interwoven authorial "C" and "G" (Marlowe/Chapman) monogram (often mistaken to be “C” and “C” for the Charleses Ricketts and Shannon). Very good or better.
. Item #876Ransom 434.
Price: $1,995.00