Oscar WildeBiblio.com
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1888Best.-Nr. PB-0034Signed first edition of Oscar Wilde's incredibly scarce "The Happy Prince and Other Tales." David Nutt publisher. Ballantyne Press. Quarto handmade paper. Original boards in Japanese vellum. Limited edition number 14 of 75 signed by both Oscar Wilde and publisher David Nutt. Publication date: 1888. Stunning illustrations: front cover design in red ink by Jacob Hood as well as head and tailpiece vignettes. Plates by Walter Crane. No dust jacket as issued. Published before well before Wilde's incarceration and trial and before his best known works such as "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" and "The Importance of Being Earnest". The fairy tales written for his children originally include "The Happy Prince" "The Nightingale and the Rose" "The Selfish Giant" "The Devoted Friend" and "The Remarkable Rocket." Evidence of previous tape repair on spine exterior and front and rear boards with chipping and loss on spine. Interior tape repair on inner hinge and evidence of what appears to be a hastily removed book plate on front pastedown. Light soot or dirt smudging on portion of title page. Interior pages are good. This volume is scarce in any condition but remains an excellent candidate for rebinding or external repairs and is priced accordingly. More photos available on request. David Nutt hardcover
1899Best.-Nr. 96121London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. First signed limited edition of Wilde's classic comedic stage play. Octavo original lavender publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine and gilt flourishes to the spine and front panel. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde this is number 85. In near fine condition with a touch of toning. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. A superior example. Wilde’s play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times first in 1935 most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore Minnie Driver Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett. Leonard Smithers and Co hardcover
1898Best.-Nr. 188708London: Leonard Smithers 1898. For he who lives more lives than one / More deaths than one must die Signed limited edition number 74 of 99 copies signed by the author. Wilde styled this the "author's edition" and in a letter to his publisher of 28 February 1898 he insisted on the purple binding with a new gilt remarque by Ricketts. Produced at Wilde's request it was the third edition overall appearing two months after the first. Octavo. Original cream quarter linen spine lettered in gilt purple cloth sides flower and leaf design on front cover after remarque by Charles Ricketts edges untrimmed. Housed in a dark purple quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Ownership inscriptions to prelims of Florence Vanda Cunliffe Thomas 1873-1936 Red House Bicester dated March and April 1898 following publication in March. Spine toned binding a little marked surface scratch on front cover light edge wear intermittent foxing but bright overall. A very good copy. Mason 374. hardcover
1898Best.-Nr. 259158London 1898. First edition ONE OF 30 COPIES on Japanese vellum. 1 vols. 8vo. Cinnamon-colored cloth vellum spine. Covers show slight insect damage and minor soiling spine a bit soiled otherwise a very good copy in a quarter blue morocco slipcase with chemise and with the bookplate and signature of actress LENA ASHWELL 1872-1957 on the front pastedown. First edition ONE OF 30 COPIES on Japanese vellum. 1 vols. 8vo. First edition of Wilde's legendary poem written while he was imprisoned in its rarest state - being one of only 30 copies printed on Japanese vellum. This copy comes from the distinguished library of the actress Lena Ashwell 1872-1957 who as a young actress toured in Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan in 1891 later becoming actor-manager of the Savoy Theatre. Ashwell was particularly troubled by the news of Wilde's arrest and wrote later: ". the atmosphere of London was horrible and cruel. His plays were so very brilliant and I had seen this when I was in Lady Windermere's so I felt that he was a friend and in desperate trouble." Later during WWI she is known to have pioneered the organization of entertainments on a large scale for the British troops in France Leask Margaret Lena Ashwell: Actress Patriot Pioneer 2012. An excellent association copy of an essential Wilde rarity. Mason 372 unknown
1882Best.-Nr. #8Oscar Wilde Poems. Fourth Edition. London David Bogue 1882. Octavo. ix pp. 1 blank leaf 234 pp. 2 pp. publisher's catalogue and 1 blank leaf. Publisher's binding. Full white vellum Bradel binding both covers decorated with a symmetrical gilt and blind-stamped floral panel spine likewise adorned with a large gilt floral panel title in gilt lettering top edge gilt untrimmed. Fourth edition. Copy enriched with an autograph inscription signed on the verso of the half-title: "To Alphonse Daudet the greatest novelist of our time homage from the author. Oscar Wilde May 3 83." An exceptional inscription to "the greatest novelist of our time." Having only just returned from New York Oscar Wilde spent the period from February to mid-May in Paris. It was there that he made the acquaintance of Alphonse Daudet whom he met both at his home his wife hosted a celebrated salon and at the residence of the painter Giuseppe de Nittis. Robert Harborough Sherard who was a friend of both Daudet and Wilde testified to the genuine esteem the English writer held for the French novelist. Although their aesthetics may at first appear far apart certain parallels can nevertheless be drawn between their works. Thus it has been written of L'Homme au cerveau d'or one of the tales from Lettres de mon moulin that "one might readily believe it to be the work of an Edgar Allan Poe or an Oscar Wilde." Yet Alphonse Daudet like the vast majority of French writers did not distinguish himself by his courage and even went further: in 1895 after Wilde's sentence to two years' hard labour he refused to sign a petition by Hugues Rebell calling for a reduction of his sentence accompanying his refusal with the remark: "As a father I can only express my horror and indignation." Let us recall that this exemplary family man confided to Gustave Flaubert during a dinner: "To experience pleasure against my own flesh I require the flesh of two women one whom I handle and the other who attends to the backside of the one I am fondling" Journal of Edmond de Goncourt 5 May 1876. This inscription by Oscar Wilde certainly dates from a period when he was seeking to ingratiate himself with the French intellectual milieu yet he was nonetheless fully aware of Alphonse Daudet's great talent and sincere in this fine dedication. David Bogue
1882Best.-Nr. #9Oscar Wilde Poems. Fourth Edition. London David Bogue 1882. Octavo. ix pp. 1 blank leaf 234 pp. 2 pp. publisher's catalogue and 1 blank leaf. Publisher's binding. Full white vellum Bradel binding both covers decorated with a symmetrical gilt and blind-stamped floral panel spine likewise adorned with a large gilt floral panel title in gilt lettering top edge gilt untrimmed. Fourth edition. Copy enriched with an autograph inscription signed on the verso of the half-title: "To Alphonse Daudet the greatest novelist of our time homage from the author. Oscar Wilde May 3 83." An exceptional inscription to "the greatest novelist of our time." Having only just returned from New York Oscar Wilde spent the period from February to mid-May in Paris. It was there that he made the acquaintance of Alphonse Daudet whom he met both at his home his wife hosted a celebrated salon and at the residence of the painter Giuseppe de Nittis. Robert Harborough Sherard who was a friend of both Daudet and Wilde testified to the genuine esteem the English writer held for the French novelist. Although their aesthetics may at first appear far apart certain parallels can nevertheless be drawn between their works. Thus it has been written of L'Homme au cerveau d'or one of the tales from Lettres de mon moulin that "one might readily believe it to be the work of an Edgar Allan Poe or an Oscar Wilde." Yet Alphonse Daudet like the vast majority of French writers did not distinguish himself by his courage and even went further: in 1895 after Wilde's sentence to two years' hard labour he refused to sign a petition by Hugues Rebell calling for a reduction of his sentence accompanying his refusal with the remark: "As a father I can only express my horror and indignation." Let us recall that this exemplary family man confided to Gustave Flaubert during a dinner: "To experience pleasure against my own flesh I require the flesh of two women one whom I handle and the other who attends to the backside of the one I am fondling" Journal of Edmond de Goncourt 5 May 1876. This inscription by Oscar Wilde certainly dates from a period when he was seeking to ingratiate himself with the French intellectual milieu yet he was nonetheless fully aware of Alphonse Daudet's great talent and sincere in this fine dedication. David Bogue
1894Best.-Nr. #15Oscar Wilde Salome. A Tragedy in One Act: Translated from the French of Oscar Wilde; Pictured by Aubrey Beardsley. Salomé une tragédie en un acte traduite du français illustrée par Aubrey Beardsley. London Elkin Mathews & John Lane; Boston Copeland & Day 1894. Small quarto. 5 unnumbered leaves half-title engraved title dedication to Alfred Douglas list of characters engraved list of illustrations 67 pp. and 16 pp. of publisher's advertisements. 10 engraved plates printed on Japan paper and one historiated tailpiece. A precious copy from the library of Jules Claretie accompanied by an autograph letter and a superb original photograph of Oscar Wilde. Contemporary binding signed by Gruel. Full olive morocco covers framed with a quadruple blind fillet spine with five raised bands extending onto the covers inner dentelles with gilt fillets gilt edges at the head edges ruled. First English edition printed in 500 copies. Copy enriched with: – An original photograph of Oscar Wilde 145 × 105 mm by Alfred Ellis albumen print of the period. – A press clipping announcing Wilde's death and another reporting on his funeral. – An autograph letter signed by Oscar Wilde to Jules Claretie dated "The Cottage Goring-on-Thames" 1894 4 pages 12mo in black ink on a folded vellum paper bifolium. Translation of the letter originally in French: "Dear Monsieur Claretie Pray allow me the pleasure of asking you to accept a copy of my play Salomé and permit me to assure you how highly I value the privilege of meeting the artistic director of the most artistic theatre in the world. I have retired to the country to reflect upon a new play but before the season ends I hope to return to London and to have the opportunity of seeing you again. The only hope I see for our English drama lies in the establishment of a theatre like the French Theatre. I hope we may find a director possessing as much sympathy for art as yourself. Pray accept this expression of my respect and admiration. Oscar Wilde." One year after its first appearance in French the English version of Salome was published. The dedication reads: "To my friend Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas the translator of my play." In fact the translation gave rise to a dispute between Wilde and his young protégé whose command of French was rather limited. Wilde redid the entire work and refused to allow Douglas's name to appear on the title page. Douglas saw between this dedication and the absence of his name on the title page "the difference between a tribute of admiration from an artist and a tradesman's receipt." The book is one of the masterpieces of the English illustrated book featuring the striking compositions of Aubrey Beardsley 1872–1898 who also designed two magnificent historiated borders for the title page and the list of illustrations as well as the final tailpiece. These stylized and sinuous drawings show the artist at the height of his powers playing with bold areas of deep black ink contrasted with untouched white spaces and sophisticated decorative elements inspired equally by Renaissance ornament and the then-fashionable Japanese style. For Salome the young artist created the archetype of the poisonous woman typical of Symbolism surrounded by grotesque and perverse secondary figures. Wilde paid tribute to him declaring that Beardsley was "the only artist who knew what the dance of Salome was and who could see that invisible dance." This copy belonged to the novelist playwright and critic Jules Claretie 1840–1913 who from 1885 until his death served as administrator of the Comédie-Française which Wilde here does not hesitate to call "the most artistic theatre in the world." Claretie introduced contemporary authors such as Henry Bataille and Octave Mirbeau into its repertoire. This was a bold undertaking and Wilde here pays tribute to it: "The only hope I see for our English drama lies in the establishment of a theatre like the French Theatre." The very fine portrait of Oscar Wilde mounted at the beginning of this copy was taken in 1892 by the London photographer Alfred Ellis 1854–1930. The writer is captured as he truly was at the height of his career: impeccably dressed posing in a high-buttoned double-breasted jacket flower in his buttonhole white pocket square a cigarette in his left hand and his gloves in his right the latter resting on his hip. Elkin Mathews & John Lane
1898Best.-Nr. 140948944London: Leonard Smithers 1898. Signed Limited Issue. Near Fine. Third edition limited issue #69 of 99 copies signed by Oscar Wilde in black ink on the limitation page. 31 pp. printed on rectos only. Bound in publisher's purple cloth over and white spine cloth stamped in gilt; gilt floral ornament to front board after the famed British artist Charles Ricketts. Housed in a custom quarter morocco slipcase. Near Fine with slight lean to binding light soilingto boards. Bookplate of business man Chauncey Lawrence Williams at front pastedown along with an inscription from the former owner and giftee below dated March 8 1934. Williams was publishing partner of W. Irving Way of Way and Williams who published L. Frank Baum's first literary venture Mother Goose in Prose 1897 Additionally he commissioned a 28-year-old Frank Lloyd Wright to build his home in River Forest Illinois. Williams' funeral service program is laid-in at front offsetting from previously laid-in papers at front endsheets with remnants of former auction record at front free endpaper. Wilde's poignant poem a reflective narrative calling for prison reform and critique of Victorian-era justice systems. Written in exile and printed anonymously under his identification number "C. 3. 3." issued to him at Reading prison during his two year imprisonment for gross indecency with his lover Lord Alfred Douglas.The scarcest and most desirable edition of the author's widely lauded and instantly successful protest poem which serves as a deeply personal lament and a powerful testament to his time in prison. Mason 374. Leonard Smithers unknown
1893Best.-Nr. #16Oscar Wilde Salomé. Drame en un acte. Paris Librairie de l'Art indépendant; London Elkin Mathews and John Lane 1893. Square 12mo 196 × 145 mm. 2 blank leaves 84 numbered pages the first 8 unnumbered: half-title title dedication to Pierre Louÿs list of characters; text beginning on p. 9 and 2 unnumbered leaves 1 leaf with the colophon dated 6 February 1893 and 1 blank leaf. Modern binding. Half black morocco with small corner pieces bluish paper sides smooth spine title in gilt untrimmed top edge with matte gilt doublures and endleaves of the same paper. Original violet wrappers and spine the upper cover printed in silver lettering preserved. Excellent condition. A few small spots; upper edges of the boards slightly faded; wrappers somewhat sunned. First edition. This celebrated play was written directly in French by Wilde between 1891 and 1892; first performed in 1896 its text was revised at the author's request by Marcel Schwob Stuart Merrill and Pierre Louÿs. The first English edition appeared the following year. Limited edition of 600 copies with no special issue on large paper. The second blank leaf bears the following autograph inscription signed in black ink: "À Puvis de Chavannes / Hommage respectueux / Oscar Wilde" To Pierre Puvis de Chavannes respectful homage Oscar Wilde. The celebrated painter and muralist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes 1824–1898 like Oscar Wilde 1854–1900 lived in the cult of Beauty. Renowned for his compositions of noble and hieratic character influenced both by Greco-Roman classicism and by Symbolism his work exerted a profound fascination on late nineteenth-century painters and sculptors particularly Edgar Degas Paul Gauguin Aristide Maillol and Maurice Denis. The aesthetic connection between Oscar Wilde and Puvis de Chavannes is to be sought precisely around Salomé since the artist had painted in 1869 a Beheading of Saint John the Baptist that may well have inspired the author. Moreover it is known that when Aubrey Beardsley—who would illustrate the English version of the play in 1894—came to Paris in 1893 he was strongly encouraged by the French painter who introduced him as "a young English artist who produces astonishing things." The inscription in Salomé is therefore particularly significant and of greater import than a simple tribute. A very fine provenance for this celebrated drama written directly in French by Oscar Wilde. Librairie de l’Art indépendant
1891Best.-Nr. 260London: Ward Lock & Co 1891. First Edition. First printing without Bowden's name added to the title page imprint the Preface with Wilde's name at the end in larger bolder type and with "nd" for "and" beginning the eighth line from the bottom on page 208. The error was corrected for the second printing which included the 250 signed copies of the limited edition-copies that in addition to being the second issue are literally the second printing. This trade edition is not only earlier than the limited but when it has its dust jacket many times rarer. Original white vellum parchment-backed boards former owner's neat name to endpaper spine slightly faded from light not dust else near fine in the rare dust jacket with small tears and chips to the spine tips and corners neatly repaired a bit short an irregularity with nineteenth-century hand-trimmed jackets but a charismatic jacket still-integral clean and one to be owned with pride. An unequivocal Victorian classic as great a short novel as has ever been written and copies in dustjacket must have been dumped in the Bermuda Triangle because they never show up at auction or in the trade. Full morocco case. Wilde was from that atypical minority of great men those who do not remind us of anyone else. He wrote the best comedies since Shakespeare mastered paradox and was the reigning wit of the 1890s but he became a victim when society forgot that the mouse should never be a juror at the cat's trial. Dorian Gray was his only novel and why not When you write one like this one is sufficient. It's undeniably a modern Gothic and a self-evident Victorian classic unique in the delicacy of its grim and melancholy metaphor and it continues to maintain it's appeal even in our 21st century. Ward Lock & Co unknown
Best.-Nr. 18832London: David Nutt. 1888. First edition first printing. First edition first printing. Signed Limited Edition. Small 4to. Stunning contemporary orange morocco by Zaehnsdorf titles and ivy leaf tooling in gilt to the spine upper board with titles in gilt upper and lower boards decorated with acorns and oak ivy sycamore and willow leaves in gilt. The inner dentelles are decorated with ivy leaves in gilt the binder's name stamp in gilt at the front and exhibition stamp in gilt at the rear. Top edge gilt others untrimmed. Retaining the original upper wrapper. Illustrated title page in red with black vignette printed title page in red and black. Illustrated with a frontispiece and two further plates by Walter Crane each in two states and 12 head and tailpieces by Jacomb Hood. A beautiful near fine copy. Imperceptible repair to the upper joint minor toning to the leather. The contents with light offsetting to the endpapers and a faint mark to the margin of one page are otherwise clean and bright throughout. Housed in a recent full black morocco felt lined solander case titles in gilt to the spine and grey cloth slipcase. Limited to 75 large paper copies of which this is hand numbered 36 and signed by Oscar Wilde and the publisher David Nutt on the limitation page. A superb example of the rare first edition preceding the trade edition of 1000 copies issued later the same year in an exceptional contemporary exhibition quality autumnal foliate binding. The Happy Prince is Oscar Wilde's first and best known collection of children's stories including "The Selfish Giant" "The Nightingale and the Rose" "The Devoted Friend" and "The Remarkable Rocket". Wilde's "Reputation as an author dated from the publication of The Happy Prince and Other Tales in London in May 1888. The Athenaeum compared him to Hans Christian Andersen and Pater wrote to say that 'The Selfish Giant' was 'perfect in its kind' and the whole book written in 'pure English' - a wonderful compliment" Ellmann Richard: Oscar Wilde p. 282. Mason 314. Provenance: Charles Mills Lord Hillingdon 1830 - 1898; Sotheby's sale of 1932 lot 454; purchased by book dealer and co-founder of the Society for Theatre Research Ifan Kyrle Fletcher with his neat pencil note recording the sale on the front pastedown; Helen Hambro née Boyson 1936 - 2004. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. All items are catalogued by humans. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers. London: David Nutt. 1888 hardcover
1891Best.-Nr. 69675London: Ward Lock and Co 1891. Full Description: WILDE Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. London: Ward Lock and Co. 1891. First edition in book form this being the Edition de Luxe limited to 250 copies numbered by hand and signed by Oscar Wilde this being number 52. Royal octavo 8 1/2 x 7 inches; 215 x 180 mm. vii 1 334 pp. Printed on Dutch hand-made paper watermarked Van Gelder. Publisher's quarter parchment over rough grey bevelled boards possibly rebacked retaining the original spine. Front cover with gilt lettering atop a pattern of fifty-five gilt butterflies designed by Charles Ricketts spine lettered in gilt at base top edge gilt rest uncut. Newer endpapers. Previous owner's penciled poem in German to half-title. Some dust-soiling to deckle edges. Some rubbing to bevelled edges. A small slit at the bottom of the front hinge. Overall a very good copy in the publisher's binding. The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde's first novel and was first published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine July 1890. Six new chapters are added to this first appearance in book form with many other additions and variations. On its first appearance this book was violently attacked by the critics and its publication did Wilde a great deal of harm. Mason 329. HBS 69675. $55000. Ward Lock and Co unknown
1899Best.-Nr. 140940300London: Leonard Smithers and Co 1899. Signed Limited First Edition. Near Fine. Signed limited first edition. xii 152 pp. Bound in publisher's original pale lavender cloth with gilt spine lettering and decorations by Charles Shannon. Copy number 82 of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde with a flourish. Near Fine with subtle sunning several barely discernible spots to cloth short bubble to rear cloth. Typical offsetting to endpapers and a 5" tear to the rear endpaper. Contents bright and fresh. A beautiful copy. Wilde's masterpiece which opened to wide acclaim at the St. James's Theatre London on February 14 1895. It was withdrawn after 86 performances following his arrest and imprisonment on charges of gross indecency as a consequence of his failed libel suit against Lord Queensbury the father of Wilde's homosexual lover Lord Alfred Douglas. He was outed as gay a disgrace in Victorian society and the play was not published in any form until the present edition following his release from prison. It has been hailed as an exemplary farce called by poet W.H. Auden "a pure verbal opera. Leonard Smithers and Co unknown
1899Best.-Nr. 183655London: Leonard Smithers and Co. 1899. The truth is rarely pure and never simple First edition signed limited issue number 17 of 100 copies signed by the author and printed on large handmade paper. Wilde's last and greatest play opened to huge acclaim on Valentine's Day 1895 but was withdrawn after Wilde's failed libel suit against Lord Queensbury led to his arrest. The play was not published in book form until February 1899 after Wilde's release from prison. The total edition comprised 1000 unsigned copies 100 signed large paper copies and 12 signed copies on japon for presentation. Quarto. Original pink cloth spine lettered in gilt stylized leaf motifs by Charles Shannon in gilt to spine and covers edges untrimmed. Housed in a custom red quarter morocco folding box. Spine sunned and rubbed tiny spots of wear to extremities light browning to endpapers as usual. A very good copy. hardcover
1898Best.-Nr. 6Oscar Wilde The Ballad of Reading Goal by C.3.3. Leonard Smithers Royal Arcade London W. 1898. Original white quarter cloth spine lettered in gilt yellow cloth sides. Inscribed in ink on the back of the half-title: To Louis Fabulet from the author in remembrance of a charming evening when the wine was red and the moon was silver Oscar Wilde Paris 98 Autograph note from Louis Fabulet: "This book: "The Ballad of Reading Jail" was given to me by Oscar Wilde in June 1898 a few days after the dinner that after his release from prison in England I persuaded my friend the poet Edouard Ducôté then director of the magazine "L'Ermitage" to offer in his honor. Hugues Rebell André Gide Henri Ghéon René Boylesve and I were the guests. Louis Fabulet. Attached is the business card bearing the name under which Oscar Wilde then lived in Paris. The address in pencil: "Hôtel d'Alsace rue des Beaux-Arts is in his handwriting. "Melmoth" is the man "who sold his soul for eternal youth." Louis Fabulet 1862-1933 was one of the main translators from English to French in his time notably of the works of Kipling and Thoreau. It is said that it was Oscar Wilde who introduced him to The Jungle Book. This inscription exceptionally long and colorful which is almost akin to a brief poem refers to the dinner that Louis Fabulet speaks of in his note. Wilde had arrived in Paris in March and the French literati were keen to pay him public homage with this banquet which he presided over. The inscription makes a nice reference to the event with perhaps a reminiscence of the Ballad itself where we read in the second verse: "For blood and wine are red" . Mounted in the copy is Wilde's rare card in the name of Sebastian Melmoth. The aged ruined writer abandoned by almost everyone hid himself under the name of the hero of Robert Mathurin's novel Melmoth the Wanderer. The card does not have an address. Wilde in fact lived at the Hôtel d'Alsace in Saint-Germain des Prés a shabby establishment at the time "it's so dirty so totally depressing and hopeless" he wrote. He wrote down the address of his hand in pencil. It was there that he died two years later. The hotel took the name "L'Hôtel" in 1963 and became a rather chic place. These combined elements: the poetic inscription which evokes a happy moment and the moving card which evokes his misery make this copy one of the most precious there is. Leonard Smithers
