Some British Ballads
London: Messrs. (William) Heinemann Ltd.; Constable & Co., circa 1919.
Hardcover. This romantic, rousing, and rowdy circa 1919 collection of historic ballads comes illustrated by the great Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), crown prince of the Golden Age of Illustration, who here offers a feast of 16 mounted and tissue-guarded color plates and over 20 bold vignettes in black and white. In these fantastically imagined and richly rendered pages, you'll join the ill-fated hunt and brave the bloody battle of the ballad of "Chevy Chase," become seduced by a mermaid (against your mother's advice) with fatal effects in the ballad of "Clerk Colvill," free your father's captive and force him to marry you with the help of a household spirit in the ballad of "Young Bekie," witness the illicit wedding of a woman to her beautiful bird prince in the ballad of "The Earl of Mar's Daughter," and experience many other great adventures from ballads across countless British centuries.
10 1/4" X 7 3/4". 8pp, [iii], 2-170pp. Bound in sky blue cloth over boards, with lovers wedding in a grove of trees stamped in gilt to upper board, with acorn and leaves in gilt to spine, both lettered in kind, and lion and leopard with Tudor rose and Scottish thistle stamped in blind to rear. Moderate wear to binding, with bumping to corners, nicely repaired split to cloth at exterior hinges, small spot of soiling to rear, and visible bowing to boards. Pictorial endpapers of a knight riding across a bridge. Previous owner's name to front free endpaper. Foxing to pages throughout, else unmarked. Some creasing to tissue-guards throughout and small tear to tissue guard facing page 66. Some leaves unopened. Illustrated in 16 tissue-guarded color plates by Arthur Rackham tipped in to thick gray paper throughout, along with many black and white vignettes. Good +. Item #16412
Price: $155.00