Oscar Wilde, Salome, Audrey Beardsley Plates 1930
"Salome: A Tragedy in One Act: Translated from the French of Oscar Wilde, with Sixteen Drawings by Aubrey Beardsley", Lord Alfred Douglas translation, published by Illustrated Editions Company, New York, undated 1930-1931 edition. In addition to Beardsley designs, included is a list of the cast from the first English performance in 1905, a reproduction of Richard Strauss's opera poster (1905), and a reproduction of the original play's cover design. [According to the list on the back side of the dust jacket, "Salome" is the fifth title issued. The Illustrated Edition Company started to produce books in 1930.]
Originally written in French in 1891, published in 1894, and in 1896 it was performed in Paris with Sarah Bernhardt in the leading role. After being written, the play has been censored in England. After it was translated by Lord Alfred Douglas (close friend of Oscar Wilde), the censorship was dropped, and it was performed by the New Stage Club at London's Palace Theatre in 1905.
Aubrey Beardsley illustrations to the "Malory's Morte d'Arthur" became popular among the artists and poets of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Therefore, when Wilde's "Salome" was first published in February 1893, the Pall Mall Budget magazine asked Beardsley for a drawing in response. Beardsley created "The Climax." Magazine editors rejected this macabre, fantastic image based around the play's last scene, in which Salome embraces the severed head of John the Baptist.
In April, a new art publication included this drawing in its inaugural issue, and it made its way to Wilde, who was so taken with it that he offered Beardsley a contract for ten full-page illustrations and a cover design for the English edition. Beardsley was twenty-one and Wilde, whom he had met three years earlier at an artist's studio, thirty-eight.
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (Aug. 21, 1872 - March 16, 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His drawings in black ink, influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A. McNeill Whistler. Beardsley's contribution to the development of the Art Nouveau and poster styles was significant, despite the brevity of his career before his early death from tuberculosis.
US: Priority (c 2-4 days) -------- $14.50
Canada: Priority (c. 2-6 weeks) -- $27.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ---- $37.50
Condition Report: Original dust jacket [some small damages] is protected in mylar cover, hard boards, 3/4 red cloth, black spine stamped in gold [some aging and wear], 6.1/2” x 9.1/2”; nice cream – brown endpapers; 121 pages including plates by Audrey Beardsley, all pages are printing on heavy stock paper. The prints of Beardsley's sophisticated pen and ink illustrations are sharp and clear, printed on one side only [the back of the drawings is blank]; very good condition.
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"Salome: A Tragedy in One Act: Translated from the French of Oscar Wilde, with Sixteen Drawings by Aubrey Beardsley", Lord Alfred Douglas translation, published by Illustrated Editions Company, New York, undated 1930-1931 edition. In addition to Beardsley designs, included is a list of the cast from the first English performance in 1905, a reproduction of Richard Strauss's opera poster (1905), and a reproduction of the original play's cover design. [According to the list on the back side of the dust jacket, "Salome" is the fifth title issued. The Illustrated Edition Company started to produce books in 1930.]
Originally written in French in 1891, published in 1894, and in 1896 it was performed in Paris with Sarah Bernhardt in the leading role. After being written, the play has been censored in England. After it was translated by Lord Alfred Douglas (close friend of Oscar Wilde), the censorship was dropped, and it was performed by the New Stage Club at London's Palace Theatre in 1905.
Aubrey Beardsley illustrations to the "Malory's Morte d'Arthur" became popular among the artists and poets of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Therefore, when Wilde's "Salome" was first published in February 1893, the Pall Mall Budget magazine asked Beardsley for a drawing in response. Beardsley created "The Climax." Magazine editors rejected this macabre, fantastic image based around the play's last scene, in which Salome embraces the severed head of John the Baptist.
In April, a new art publication included this drawing in its inaugural issue, and it made its way to Wilde, who was so taken with it that he offered Beardsley a contract for ten full-page illustrations and a cover design for the English edition. Beardsley was twenty-one and Wilde, whom he had met three years earlier at an artist's studio, thirty-eight.
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (Aug. 21, 1872 - March 16, 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His drawings in black ink, influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A. McNeill Whistler. Beardsley's contribution to the development of the Art Nouveau and poster styles was significant, despite the brevity of his career before his early death from tuberculosis.
US: Priority (c 2-4 days) -------- $14.50
Canada: Priority (c. 2-6 weeks) -- $27.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ---- $37.50
Condition Report: Original dust jacket [some small damages] is protected in mylar cover, hard boards, 3/4 red cloth, black spine stamped in gold [some aging and wear], 6.1/2” x 9.1/2”; nice cream – brown endpapers; 121 pages including plates by Audrey Beardsley, all pages are printing on heavy stock paper. The prints of Beardsley's sophisticated pen and ink illustrations are sharp and clear, printed on one side only [the back of the drawings is blank]; very good condition.
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