1921 Rare Limited Book Signed by Rackham - John Milton's COMUS in a beautiful Sangorski binding.
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Author: John Milton. (Illustrator, Arthur Rackham).
Title: COMUS.
Publisher: London, William Heinemann, 1921. First Rackham Illustrated Edition, Deluxe LIMITED Edition SIGNED. Number 460 of 550 copies signed by Arthur Rackham.
Language: Text in English.
Size : 11 " X 9 ".
Pages: xviii-76 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good binding handsomely bound in dark blue full morocco leather by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, London for J. W. Robinson Company, with twin red labels to spine, gilt decoration, a beautiful Satyr on front board and with all edges gilt, (hinges tight and secure, nicely repaired by a previous owner - as shown, spine worn - as shown, overall slightly worn and scuffed) under a protective removable mylar cover. A rare find in a very beautiful binding!
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, rare light foxing or staining- as shown, inner hinges reinforced by a previous owner - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with twenty-four wonderful tipped-in color plates by Arthur Rackham, each with captioned tissue guards.
The book: Scarce & signed First edition in a wonderful Sangorski Binding! Beautiful Edition of Comus (A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634) -- a masque in honor of chastity, written by John Milton. It was first presented on Michaelmas, 1634, before John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater, at Ludlow Castle in celebration of the Earl's new post as Lord President of Wales.
Known colloquially as Comus, the masque's actual full title is A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: on Michelmas night, before the Rt Hon. Iohn Earl of Bridgewater, Viscount Brackly, Lord President of Wales, and one of His Maiesties most honorable privie councill. Comus was printed anonymously in 1637, in a quarto issued by bookseller Humphrey Robinson; Milton included the work in his Poems of 1645 and 1673. Milton's text was later used for a highly successful masque by the musician Thomas Arne in 1738, which then ran for more than seventy years in London.
The illustrator: Arthur Rackham RWS (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading literary figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, which were combined with the use of watercolour, a technique he developed due to his background as a journalistic illustrator.
Rackham's 51 colour pieces for the Early American tale became a turning point in the production of books since – through colour-separated printing – it featured the accurate reproduction of colour artwork. Some of his best-known works include the illustrations for Rip Van Winkle, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.
The author: John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual who served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667). Written in blank verse, Paradise Lost is widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever written.