Wilde Oscar

1925 · réf. UB-17848 — New York: Dodd Mead & Company 1925. First Thus. Hardcover. Very good /very good. First Thus. Hardcover. Descend into 7 morbid fairy tales full of enchantment death sacrifice and "the wounds of love" by the great Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde 1854-1900 who once declared these tales "intended neither for the British child nor the British public." In these pages you'll find a fisherman who falls in love with a mermaid with a magical voice and must strike a deal with a cave-dwelling witch to rid himself of his human soul to have her a beauty-loving king who would rather wear rags than raiment a falling star and a sinister babe abandoned in a wood a giant and his beautiful walled garden beset by children and so much more here illustrated in 16 striking and otherworldly plates by the Jewish Ukrainian-American artist Ben Kutcher 1895-1967. This is the first edition published with pictorial endpapers gilt-stamped pictorial binding and uncommon dust jacket all designed by Kutcher. 9 5/8" X 6 1/2". Presents nicely in protective archival sleeved dust jacket. Moderate wear to unclipped dust jacket with small open tears at all edges and extremities 3" neat tear to rear panel sunning to spine and scattered rubbing and soiling. Publisher's cloth binding by Ben Kutcher with artist's monogram BK to rear board. Bound in black cloth over boards with boards and spine stamped in gilt: rose bush and nightingale to upper board nightingale and heart motif continued to spine with star and candle and starry cloudy night sky scene to rear all bright. Edgewear to binding with slight lean to spine and scattered rubbing to cloth. Pictorial endpapers. Binding is firm and sound. Scattered foxing to pages and plates throughout else unmarked. Dodd, Mead & Company hardcover