first edition
1906
by (Wilde, Oscar) Beardsley, Aubrey
1906. Seventeen Beardsley illustrations (13-3/4" x 10-3/4") printed on Japan vellum, loose in a parchment-backed grey cloth portfolio. [London: John Lane, 1906.]
These are the provocative illustrations that 21-year-old Aubrey Beardsley created for Oscar Wilde's equally-provocative take on the Biblical tale of Salomé, the Princess of Judæa -- who, as a reward for her dance of the seven veils, was told by her stepfather the King that he would give her anything she wanted: having been rebuffed in her attempt to seduce John the Baptist, Salomé demanded (and received) his head on a silver platter. Because Oscar Wilde's play depicted Biblical characters, he could not initially get it performed in Britain (starring Sarah Bernhardt, it was shut down by the Lord Chamberlain during June 1892 rehearsals) -- so he wrote it in French, such that the true first edition was published (in wrappers, unillustrated) in Paris, in 1893. The play was first produced onstage in Paris in 1896, but not in Britain until 1931. By 1894, Mathews & Lane were able to publish the first edition in English, with thirteen of these Beardsley illustrations. (Several of the illustrations include caricatures of Wilde himself.) A decade later, in 1904, an edition was published by "Melmoth & Co." -- actually a piracy by Leonard Smithers -- that included three additional Beardsley plates ("John and Salomé" and "The Toilette of Salomé" which had been deemed too outrageous for the 1894 edition, plus the original cover art); in 1906, John Lane issued an edition that included those as well. That same year (September?), John Lane issued this portfolio of seventeen Beardsley plates, adding "a hitherto unpublished additional drawing" [MSL], "Salomé on Settle." This is presumably the first issue, withOUT the list of plates that was added to the later copies sent out (we say "presumably" because of course, someone could have merely discarded that list to turn a second issue into a first). The seventeen plates are all in near-fine condition, the only drawback being some browning around their edges (not affecting the images). The parchment-backed portfolio is very good, with a bit of soil, darkening, and edge-wear (and some creases in the inner flaps); understandably, it lacks the two silk ribbons that would have originally tied across the fore-edge. A scarce item, seldom complete. Samuels Lasner 59E; Gallatin p. 48. (Inventory #: 15619)
These are the provocative illustrations that 21-year-old Aubrey Beardsley created for Oscar Wilde's equally-provocative take on the Biblical tale of Salomé, the Princess of Judæa -- who, as a reward for her dance of the seven veils, was told by her stepfather the King that he would give her anything she wanted: having been rebuffed in her attempt to seduce John the Baptist, Salomé demanded (and received) his head on a silver platter. Because Oscar Wilde's play depicted Biblical characters, he could not initially get it performed in Britain (starring Sarah Bernhardt, it was shut down by the Lord Chamberlain during June 1892 rehearsals) -- so he wrote it in French, such that the true first edition was published (in wrappers, unillustrated) in Paris, in 1893. The play was first produced onstage in Paris in 1896, but not in Britain until 1931. By 1894, Mathews & Lane were able to publish the first edition in English, with thirteen of these Beardsley illustrations. (Several of the illustrations include caricatures of Wilde himself.) A decade later, in 1904, an edition was published by "Melmoth & Co." -- actually a piracy by Leonard Smithers -- that included three additional Beardsley plates ("John and Salomé" and "The Toilette of Salomé" which had been deemed too outrageous for the 1894 edition, plus the original cover art); in 1906, John Lane issued an edition that included those as well. That same year (September?), John Lane issued this portfolio of seventeen Beardsley plates, adding "a hitherto unpublished additional drawing" [MSL], "Salomé on Settle." This is presumably the first issue, withOUT the list of plates that was added to the later copies sent out (we say "presumably" because of course, someone could have merely discarded that list to turn a second issue into a first). The seventeen plates are all in near-fine condition, the only drawback being some browning around their edges (not affecting the images). The parchment-backed portfolio is very good, with a bit of soil, darkening, and edge-wear (and some creases in the inner flaps); understandably, it lacks the two silk ribbons that would have originally tied across the fore-edge. A scarce item, seldom complete. Samuels Lasner 59E; Gallatin p. 48. (Inventory #: 15619)
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