1888 Rare First Edition- The Rose of Paradise, A Pirate Adventure by Howard Pyle
An attractive First Edition of Howard Pyle’s early pirate adventure, complete with all eight dramatic illustrations and preserved in its original gilt-lettered green cloth.
Author: PYLE, Howard
Title: The Rose of Paradise.
Publisher: New York, Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, 1888.
Edition: First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Pages: [vi], 231 pages.
Size: Octavo.
Binding: Very good original green cloth binding with gilt titles to the front board and spine (light rubbing and scuffing to the cloth, minor wear to corners and spine extremities, as shown). Hinges and binding remain sound. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (clean and unmarked, with light general age-toning; remains firmly secured, as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with all eight black-and-white illustrations by Howard Pyle, including the tissue-guarded frontispiece.
Estimate: USD 200 - USD 250
The book: First Edition of The Rose of Paradise, one of Howard Pyle’s early adventures of piracy and the sea. Written in the form of the supposed memoir of Captain John Mackra, the story recounts his encounters with the notorious pirate Edward England in the Mozambique Channel in 1720. Pyle combines historical inspiration with romance, danger and maritime adventure, already displaying the vivid sense of action and atmosphere that would become central to his celebrated pirate imagery.
The volume is especially appealing for its eight illustrations, all by Pyle himself. His energetic compositions of ships, pistols, pirates and eighteenth-century interiors give the book much of its character and anticipate the visual vocabulary through which Pyle would profoundly shape the popular image of the Golden Age of Piracy.
The author: Howard Pyle (1853–1911) was an American illustrator, author and teacher whose work had a lasting influence on American illustration. He wrote and illustrated numerous books of adventure, legend and history, including The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Otto of the Silver Hand and his celebrated Arthurian books.
Pyle became particularly renowned for his depictions of pirates, knights and historical adventure. His teaching also influenced a generation of important American illustrators, including N. C. Wyeth, helping establish what became known as the Brandywine tradition.