1911 First Illustrated Edition bound by Booklover's Shop - The Romaunt of the Rose by Chaucer. Medieval Poem.
(description)
Author: Geoffrey Chaucer. (Illustrators, Keith Henderson & Norman Wilkinson).
Title: The Romaunt of the Rose. Rendered out of the French into English by Geoffrey Chaucer and illustrated by Keith Henderson & Norman Wilkinson of Four Oaks.
Language: Text in English.
Publisher: New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1911. First Keith Henderson & Norman Wilkinson illustrated edition.
Size: 10 "X 7.5 ".
Pages: 107 pages.
Binding: Very attractive, beautiful, and exquisite FINE full dark blue morocco leather binding, decorated in gilt on spine and covers by Henry Hardy, Leon Maillard, and Gaston Pilon of the Booklover's Shop bindery in Cleveland (hinges fine) under a removable protective mylar cover. One of the nicest Booklover's Shop bindery bindings we ever saw!
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean - as shown, foxing and oxidation of inner margin of illustrations cardboard pages without affecting the beautiful illustrations - as shown, bookplate on the first endpaper of Willis Vickery (b.1857), judge, bibliophile, Shakespeare scholar, member of the Rowfant Club and President of the Rowfant Bindery Corporation during its four-year existence from 1909 until 1913). Top edge gilt.
Illustrations: Complete with the 20 enchanting tipped-in color plates by Keith Henderson & Norman Wilkinson.
Estimation : (USD 1,000- USD 1.250)
The book: Wonderful First Keith Henderson & Norman Wilkinson illustrated edition of The Romaunt of the Rose (the Romaunt) -- a partial translation into Middle English of the French medieval allegorical poem, le Roman de la Rose (le Roman). Originally believed to be the work of Chaucer, the Romaunt inspired controversy among 19th-century scholars when parts of the text were found to differ in style from Chaucer's other works. Also the text was found to contain three distinct fragments of translation. Together, the fragments—A, B, and C—provide a translation of approximately one-third of Le Roman.
The author: Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340s – 25 October 1400) -- an English poet and author. Widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages, he is best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his 10-year-old son Lewis. He maintained a career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.
The illustrators:
Norman Wilkinson CBE RI (24 November 1878 – 30 May 1971) was a British artist who usually worked in oils, watercolors and drypoint. He was primarily a marine painter, but also an illustrator, poster artist, and wartime camoufleur. Wilkinson invented dazzle painting to protect merchant shipping during the First World War.
Keith Henderson OBE RP RSW RWS ROI (17 April 1883 – 24 February 1982) was a Scottish painter who worked in both oils and watercolors, and who is known for his book illustrations and his poster work for London Transport and the Empire Marketing Board.[ He had a long professional career that included periods as a war artist in both the First World War, in which he served in the trenches, and in the Second World War.