Anatole France, Red Lily, 1st illustrated Ed. 1930
"The Red Lily", by Anatole France, translated by Winifred Stephens, illustrated by Donia Nachshen, including 12 original tipped in copper plate engravings, published by The Bodley Head, London, and Dodd & Mead, New York, printed in Great Britain, stated First illustrated Edition, 1930.
"The Red Lily" tells of the affair between a woman of the world, married to a politician, with an artist. A trip to Florence (which symbolizes the title) crowns this carnal and mystical union. Soon, jealousy insinuates itself into the lover's heart, who ends the affair. This novel by Anatole France, unique in its genre, now rehabilitated and returned to fashion, is partially autobiographical, since it is based on the, at first passionate affair, between the author and Mrs. de Caillavet.
Anatole France (1844-1924), French journalist, and successful novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Academie francaise, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Donia Esther Nachshen (22 January 1903 - 1987) was a British artist, book illustrator and poster artist.
Nachshen was born in the city of Zhitomir, which was then part of Russia and is now in the Ukraine. She was born into a Jewish family and after an anti-Jewish pogrom in the city in 1905, the family fled Zhitomir and eventually settled in London. Nachshen did well at school in London and enrolled in the Slade School of Art. By the 1920s she had established herself as a successful book designer. She illustrated translations of works by Arthur Schnitzler and the Nobel Prize winner Anatole France in a style based on Russian folk art and Art Deco elements. Nachshen also illustrated a version of the Jewish text the Haggadah in 1934 and illustrated editions of works by Oscar Wilde and Samuel Butler.
During World War II, Nachshen produced poster designs for a number of high-profile campaigns. She continued with her book illustration work during the war, producing designs for versions of Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, and a collection of short stories by Feodor Dostoyevsky as well as books by Enid Blyton. After the war, Nachshen lived in London and continued to illustrate novels and poetry, mainly for the publishers Constable & Co and also for the Lindsay Drummond company. For the Russian novels, Nachshen used scraperboard to create dramatic illustrations that resembled a style of eastern European woodcuts, while for the children's book that she illustrated she used much lighter pen drawings.
US: Priority (c 2-4 days) --------- $12.50
Canada: Priority (c. 2-6 weeks) --- $27.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ----- $37.50
Condition Report: Hard boards, original publisher’s black cloth decorated in gold [a little surface wear, there is a small cloth damage between spine and back-board]; 6.1/2" x 9.1/2"; illustrated endpapers [residue of the removed book plate inside front cover, name and "1932" on the front endpaper: see photo]; 325 pages with various decorations and text illustrations, printed on high quality hand-made laid paper + 12 copper etchings on heavy paper [deep impression indicates printing from the copper plates]; the plates are tipped in with the strips of thin paper [see photo]; all 12 plates are present, very good condition.
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"The Red Lily", by Anatole France, translated by Winifred Stephens, illustrated by Donia Nachshen, including 12 original tipped in copper plate engravings, published by The Bodley Head, London, and Dodd & Mead, New York, printed in Great Britain, stated First illustrated Edition, 1930.
"The Red Lily" tells of the affair between a woman of the world, married to a politician, with an artist. A trip to Florence (which symbolizes the title) crowns this carnal and mystical union. Soon, jealousy insinuates itself into the lover's heart, who ends the affair. This novel by Anatole France, unique in its genre, now rehabilitated and returned to fashion, is partially autobiographical, since it is based on the, at first passionate affair, between the author and Mrs. de Caillavet.
Anatole France (1844-1924), French journalist, and successful novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Academie francaise, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Donia Esther Nachshen (22 January 1903 - 1987) was a British artist, book illustrator and poster artist.
Nachshen was born in the city of Zhitomir, which was then part of Russia and is now in the Ukraine. She was born into a Jewish family and after an anti-Jewish pogrom in the city in 1905, the family fled Zhitomir and eventually settled in London. Nachshen did well at school in London and enrolled in the Slade School of Art. By the 1920s she had established herself as a successful book designer. She illustrated translations of works by Arthur Schnitzler and the Nobel Prize winner Anatole France in a style based on Russian folk art and Art Deco elements. Nachshen also illustrated a version of the Jewish text the Haggadah in 1934 and illustrated editions of works by Oscar Wilde and Samuel Butler.
During World War II, Nachshen produced poster designs for a number of high-profile campaigns. She continued with her book illustration work during the war, producing designs for versions of Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, and a collection of short stories by Feodor Dostoyevsky as well as books by Enid Blyton. After the war, Nachshen lived in London and continued to illustrate novels and poetry, mainly for the publishers Constable & Co and also for the Lindsay Drummond company. For the Russian novels, Nachshen used scraperboard to create dramatic illustrations that resembled a style of eastern European woodcuts, while for the children's book that she illustrated she used much lighter pen drawings.
US: Priority (c 2-4 days) --------- $12.50
Canada: Priority (c. 2-6 weeks) --- $27.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ----- $37.50
Condition Report: Hard boards, original publisher’s black cloth decorated in gold [a little surface wear, there is a small cloth damage between spine and back-board]; 6.1/2" x 9.1/2"; illustrated endpapers [residue of the removed book plate inside front cover, name and "1932" on the front endpaper: see photo]; 325 pages with various decorations and text illustrations, printed on high quality hand-made laid paper + 12 copper etchings on heavy paper [deep impression indicates printing from the copper plates]; the plates are tipped in with the strips of thin paper [see photo]; all 12 plates are present, very good condition.
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