The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde and Other Stories
London: Macmillan & Co., 1880.
First Trade Edition. Hardcover. In this second collection of fairy tales by Mary De Morgan, a wicked princess who doesn't want to marry practices black magic and strings her suitors into beads on her beautiful necklace, elves transform a courageous busker into a golden harp when she breaks their curse over a town, an evil fairy steals a princess's heart, a peddlar, a donkey, a raven, and a sparrow make empty promises to each other only to be scammed by the justice system, a baker makes a deal with an imp to produce perfect, plentiful loaves that'll make him rich but everyone who eats them absolutely miserable, three kings run away to learn traditional trades and live happily ever after, and a wise princess who can talk to animals and turn enemies to stone searches for an answer to the question of how to be happy. This is an admittedly worn first trade edition, issued simultaneously with a limited edition, lacking one of its plates (facsimile plate in place), but with complete text, of this collection of original fairy tales by a remarkable woman in the history and development of fairy tales, "the most popular and best loved of her books," according to Roger Lancelyn Green (1918–1987), in the original decorated publisher's cloth binding featuring symbols from her stories, beautifully illustrated throughout in frontispiece, 9 plates, 1 facsmile plate to replace the missing plate "The Imp and the Baker," and themed headings, initials, and tailpieces by the great Walter Crane, very uncommon in the trade.
This collection of seven spellbinding fairy tales is the work of the English writer Mary De Morgan (1850–1907), a women's suffragist, animal rights activist, and socialist whose politics informed her remarkable fairy tales, known for their feminism, criticism of mass production, and deviations from the traditional "happily ever afters" of the form, all on grand display in this collection. Mary De Morgan was the daughter of the mathematician Augustus De Morgan and the spiritualist, suffragist, and tutor to Ada Lovelace Sophia De Morgan; she was also the sister of novelist and ceramicist William De Morgan and sister-in-law to pre-Raphaelite painter Evelyn De Morgan. These influences, along with that of artist and radical socialist William Morris and his family, to whom she was a dear friend, were important ones in her work, both social and creative.
The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde and Other Stories collects the following fairy tales: "The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde," "The Wanderings of Arasmon," "The Heart of Princess Joan," "The Peddlar's Pack," "The Bread of Discontent," "The Three Clever Kings," and "The Wise Princess."
7" X 5 3/8". vii, 184pp. Bound in gray cloth over boards, decorated in black to both boards and spine with circular vignettes representing each story inside, gilt strung beads representing the title story to upper board, lettered in black and gilt to upper board and spine. Rather heavy wear to binding, with corners turned in, small open tears to corners and to head and tail of spine, deep browning to spine, slight bowing to boards, soiling to cloth, closed tear along side of spine, and slight lean to spine. All edges gilt. Patterned endpapers in the Arts and Crafts Movement style. Binder's ticket to rear pastedown.Tears along inner hinges, carefully reinforced with archival adhesive, and text block shaken; binding remains sound. Pencilled name to half-title. Occasional smudge or stray spot of foxing to pages throughout, else unmarked. "Poor" condition is due to this copy lacking one of the 11 plates by Walter Crane--printed facsimile copy laid in of missing plate "The Imp and the Baker" from the tale "The Bread of Discontent." Illustrated also in headings, initials, and tailpieces by Crane. Poor. Item #10440
Price: $395.00