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ROMEO AND JULIET.
(New York: [Printed in Paris by D. Jouast for] Duprat & Co., 1892). 258 x 162 mm. (10 1/4 x 6 1/2"). xii, 170 pp., [1] leaf (colophon). With an introduction by Richard Henry Stoddard. No. 326 OF 350 COPIES (this one of 300 on Holland paper; there were also 50 on Japon).
VERY PRETTY SEA GREEN MOROCCO, ELABORATELY GILT, FOR H. S. NICHOLS, LTD., covers framed by gilt rules with floral tooling at corners, raised bands, spine panels lavishly gilt with a starburst of floral tools emanating from a central medallion, all on a stippled ground, gilt lettering, turn-ins framed in similar style to covers, leather hinges, ivory watered silk pastedowns and endleaves, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Original paper wrappers bound in at rear. With title page vignette, decorative frame, and six engraved headpiece vignettes by Jacques Wagrez and 15 plates (five by Louis Titz and 10 by Wagrez). A Large Paper Copy. Front pastedown with morocco bookplate of W. A. Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. A very faint two-inch scratch to front board, vague fading around perimeter of covers, occasional minor foxing or smudges, but a very attractive copy, the text generally clean and bright, and the binding with virtually no signs of use.
This is a bibliophile's edition of Shakespeare's tragedy, printed in Paris on special paper with large margins, attractively illustrated, and expertly bound for bookseller and publisher H. S. Nichols. The work is introduced with an essay by American literary critic Richard Henry Stoddard (1825-1903). Although the lettering on the front turn-in states otherwise, our volume was surely bound for--rather than by--the enterprising bookseller H. S. Nichols. Nichols started out in the trade in Sheffield, where he sold books and worked with Leonard Smithers, a publisher of the Decadent movement who issued books by Sir Richard Francis Burton, Oscar Wilde, and Aubrey Beardsley, as well as erotic works that crossed the line into prurience. Nichols moved to London in 1893 and set up as a publisher and bookseller on Charing Cross Road. Facing the threat of obscenity charges, he fled to Paris in 1900 and to New York in 1908. There, he established himself as a purveyor of quality editions and rare books. It is unclear at which point in his career our book was bound for him, but given the date of publication and the style of the binding, it was likely when he was in London, where there were a number of fine binderies that could produce work of this quality. The beautiful tooling, fine materials, and elegant design suggest a firm like Riviere, which also did such bespoke work for Bumpus booksellers. Our former owner, W. A. Foyle (1885-1963), was himself a bookseller on Charing Cross Road, where he co-founded with his brother the famous Foyle's Bookshop. Foyle was an avid and discriminating collector whose three large sales at Christie's held in 2000 were a bibliophilic highlight of the new century. The sum of $19 million for which William Foyle's personal library sold in July set a record for private European collections. (ST19701)
Price: $2,750.00