Browse Similar Items
THE PRINCESS OF BABYLON.
([London]: Nonesuch Press, 1927). 191 x 121 mm. (7 1/2 x 4 3/4"). 4p.l., 156 pp., [1] leaf. No. 303 of 1,500 copies.
Original boards covered in marbled paper in muted tones of rose, blue, and cream, parchment spine and tips, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. 11 elegant full-page illustrations and three vignettes by Thomas Lowinsky. Dreyfus 48. ◆Tiny dent to head of spine, otherwise A NEAR-MINT COPY, clean, bright, and unread.
Described in its prospectus as "the airiest and most charming of all Voltaire's romances," this fable, set in an exotic land, reveals the frothy, précieux side of Voltaire's complex personality. Lowinsky (1892-1947) has cleverly illustrated the tale with willowy figures sporting the towering hairdos and plunging necklines of Voltaire's own time and place, to suggest that the frivolity of the story reflects homegrown decadence. This was the first of four books he illustrated for Nonesuch; his style is reminiscent of that of Beardsley. (ST15053e)
Price: $95.00