Spencer ' S THE FAERIE QUEENE In 2 Volumes (J M Dent, London 1897) Arts & Crafts
Item History & Price
Spencer's THE FAERIE QUEENE in 2 volumes (J M Dent, London 1897) Arts & Crafts
Published by J. M. Dent, printed in London between 5 May and 13 August 1897. Hardcover. First Thus. One of a limited edition of 1, 250 two-volume sets. Bound in tan cloth with gilt decorations and titles. Top edge of pages are gilt, outer and bottom edges are deckle.
Printed beautifully in the Kelmscott style. 8 1/8" x 9 3/4." Volume I: (i)-(lii) 1-576..., complete; twenty black and white plates, complete. Volume II: Pages 578-1156, complete; sixteen black and white plates, complete. Beautiful black and white full-page illustrations, decorative head- and tailpieces, and decorative initials by Louis Fairfax Muckley. Glossary in back of Volume II. Lavishly illustrated by Louis Fairfax Muckley.
Louis Fairfax Muckley was from Worcestershire, where his father was a glass engraver. He was one of those who, studying art in the Birmingham municipal school, became influenced by the work of Burne-Jones. He became a painter, and exhibited occasionally at the Royal Academy (5 pictures in all, between 1890 and 1914). As a member of the Arts and Crafts movement, he became involved in illuminating manuscripts, illustration of books (including Spenser's Faerie Queene ) and, in the 1890s, magazines, and bookbinding. Fairfax Muckley's illustrative work at its best is typical of the Birmingham School, and his paintings tend to the symbolic and show a proclivity for rich drapery. Fairfax Muckley's paintings surface only occasionally in exhibitions of Symbolism, Arts and Crafts and the like, but his decorative illustrative work may be found without too much difficulty in magazines of just before the turn of the century.
A lovely and rare set, beautifully printed and bound. Condition: Very Good. Bindings are tight. Shelf wear (including corner bumps and edge bumps) to boards. Interior is clean in volume one except page xxi has a stain along bottom edge. Interior is clean in volume two except soiling on pages 594-595, 636-639, 723-726, 734-735, 756-759, and 768-769. 1.5" tear on 727. Pages 723-789 show evidence of flowers having been pressed in the pages. Additional photos available upon request.
Please ask any questions you may have before bidding or buying this item.
Ships fully insured.
Notes:Edmund Spenser (1552/1553-1599) was an English poet whose best-known work is The Faerie Queene. The Faerie Queene is an epic poem and fantastical allegory about the Tudor Dynasty and Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). The poem follows the stories of different knights who each embody a virtue. Spenser stated that the objective of his poem was to "fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline." These books were also modeled after the style of William Morris's Kelmscott Press. The Kelmscott style is typified by an overall Arts and Crafts aesthetic with fonts and illustrations that represent the art movement and features specific qualities such as margin width, page layout and design, and the type of paper used. On the half-title is "The Faerie Queene: Disposed into Twelve Books Fashioning Twelve Morall Vertues." Faerie Queene was originally intended to consist of twelve books but only Books I-VI were published (Books I-III were first published in 1590; IV-VI together with a reprint of I-III in 1596).
Published by J. M. Dent, printed in London between 5 May and 13 August 1897. Hardcover. First Thus. One of a limited edition of 1, 250 two-volume sets. Bound in tan cloth with gilt decorations and titles. Top edge of pages are gilt, outer and bottom edges are deckle.
Printed beautifully in the Kelmscott style. 8 1/8" x 9 3/4." Volume I: (i)-(lii) 1-576..., complete; twenty black and white plates, complete. Volume II: Pages 578-1156, complete; sixteen black and white plates, complete. Beautiful black and white full-page illustrations, decorative head- and tailpieces, and decorative initials by Louis Fairfax Muckley. Glossary in back of Volume II. Lavishly illustrated by Louis Fairfax Muckley.
Louis Fairfax Muckley was from Worcestershire, where his father was a glass engraver. He was one of those who, studying art in the Birmingham municipal school, became influenced by the work of Burne-Jones. He became a painter, and exhibited occasionally at the Royal Academy (5 pictures in all, between 1890 and 1914). As a member of the Arts and Crafts movement, he became involved in illuminating manuscripts, illustration of books (including Spenser's Faerie Queene ) and, in the 1890s, magazines, and bookbinding. Fairfax Muckley's illustrative work at its best is typical of the Birmingham School, and his paintings tend to the symbolic and show a proclivity for rich drapery. Fairfax Muckley's paintings surface only occasionally in exhibitions of Symbolism, Arts and Crafts and the like, but his decorative illustrative work may be found without too much difficulty in magazines of just before the turn of the century.
A lovely and rare set, beautifully printed and bound. Condition: Very Good. Bindings are tight. Shelf wear (including corner bumps and edge bumps) to boards. Interior is clean in volume one except page xxi has a stain along bottom edge. Interior is clean in volume two except soiling on pages 594-595, 636-639, 723-726, 734-735, 756-759, and 768-769. 1.5" tear on 727. Pages 723-789 show evidence of flowers having been pressed in the pages. Additional photos available upon request.
Please ask any questions you may have before bidding or buying this item.
Ships fully insured.
Notes:Edmund Spenser (1552/1553-1599) was an English poet whose best-known work is The Faerie Queene. The Faerie Queene is an epic poem and fantastical allegory about the Tudor Dynasty and Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). The poem follows the stories of different knights who each embody a virtue. Spenser stated that the objective of his poem was to "fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline." These books were also modeled after the style of William Morris's Kelmscott Press. The Kelmscott style is typified by an overall Arts and Crafts aesthetic with fonts and illustrations that represent the art movement and features specific qualities such as margin width, page layout and design, and the type of paper used. On the half-title is "The Faerie Queene: Disposed into Twelve Books Fashioning Twelve Morall Vertues." Faerie Queene was originally intended to consist of twelve books but only Books I-VI were published (Books I-III were first published in 1590; IV-VI together with a reprint of I-III in 1596).
