Golden Age of Illustration

First (Library) edition; 4to; printed on Japanese vellum, publisher's device to title, 12 full-page colour lithographed illustrations by Nicholson; publisher's variant binding vellum-backed pictorial vellum boards, spotted and toned, slightly splayed; accompanied by an envelope of related ephemera.

First edition, first or second printing, deluxe issue; 16mo; 27 colour plates, plain title vignette and colour pictorial endpapers by Beatrix Potter, 2 plates with superficial loss due to adhesion to facing pages, frontispiece lightly touched up to blank recto where cracking slightly, red run from cloth affecting fore-edge and lower fore-corner of most ff., with further impact to preliminary leaves, some other light soiling and finger-marking; publisher's lilac cloth with decorative gilt to design by Beatrix Potter, with inset colour illustration to upper cover, recased with hinges reinforced internally, some damp mottling and rubbing, presented in later cloth solander box.

LIMITED EDITION. 4to. Finely bound by Zaehnsdorf in full dark green morocco, titles to spine gilt, raised bands, title and decorative block to front board gilt, inner dentelles gilt, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. With 16 mounted colour plates, captioned tissues. Black and white line drawings in the text. A fine copy.

Edition de Luxe. 4to. Original full green vellum, front cover and spine lettered and pictorially stamped in gilt, pictorial endpapers, top edge gilt, others uncut. With 26 tipped-in colour plates on grey paper. Covers very slightly bowed, minimal wear to extremities. An excellent copy of this title, with the endpapers very slightly foxed as usual.

First edition, deluxe issue, third printing; 16mo; 27 colour plates, plain title vignette and colour pictorial endpapers by Beatrix Potter, small ink name to front free endpaper, overall internally very good; publisher's russet cloth with decorative gilt to design by Beatrix Potter, with inset colour illustration to upper cover, a little rubbing to corner-tips with fore-corners turning in ever so slightly, but overall an unusually good example, gilt edges.

First edition; 8vo; half-title, pictorial title and 20 black & white plates including frontispiece by C. E. Brock, 10pp publisher's adverts at rear, slight age-toning, as usual; publisher's gilt-blocked maroon cloth, top edge gilt, remainder untrimmed, very slight rubbing to extremities and darkening to spine, otherwise a fine copy.

First edition, first issue, [one of 500 copies]; 16mo; 16 colour plates by the author, one plate with pencil initials or flourish beneath, internally excellent, original pink boards lettered and illustrated in black with rounded spine, a superb copy.

First trade edition, later impression with double endpapers rather than repeated single sheets; 16mo; frontispiece and 26 full colour plates, small, faint pencil marking to corner of upper front-free endpaper, otherwise fine: publisher's maroon boards, illustrated pastedown to fielded panel on upper board, two small superficial scratches to upper board, some fading to spine, nonetheless a near-fine copy.

First edition thus, number XXI of XXV hors commerce copies, from an overall limitation of 250 copies; 16mo; comprising printed introductory booklet signed & numbered in pencil by Maurice Sendak, with additional pencil signature of printing historian Iain Bain, in original printed wrappers, 34 line block illustrations printed in brown ink on Arches paper, each with pencil limitation details and printed monogram of Alecto Historical Editions on verso, with tissue guard, each loose in separate printed card sleeve; together housed in original cloth drop-back box with inset illustration on upper cover and gilt label on spine, a fine copy.

First edition, trade issue; 4to (280 x 280 mm.); 12 transfer lithographs by Nicholson, usual offsetting onto text leaves; publisher's cloth-backed pictorial boards, usual darkening, some marking to lower cover, but overall a very good, sharp copy.