Lot 216
(BEARDSLEY, AUBREY.) MALORY, SIR THOMAS. LE MORTE D'ARTHUR
JOHN KEPPIE'S COPIES
Decorative Arts: Design Since 1860
Auction: 11 April 2018 at 12:00 BST
Description
Limited edition in two volumes, London: Printed by Turnbull & Spears for J. D. Dent at Aldine House, 1893 & 1894, set in original pictorial cloth. (4to) 24 x 19 cm, one of 1500 copies of the regular issue, from a run of 1800, each bearing the bookplate of John Keppie, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, to the inside cover, and with bookseller's label Hugh Hopkins, 17 West Regent Street, Glasgow (2)
Footnote
Note: Despite his short-lived career, Beardsley's creative output over six years significantly shaped the development of the Art Nouveau style in Britain. His first major commission, at the age of twenty, was to produce a series of illustrations for an edition of Le Morte D'Arthur for J.M. Dent & Co. This particular copy was owned by John Keppie, the Glasgow-born architect and colleague to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who designed his bookplate, pasted into each of these editions. Sinuous lines, extenuating plant forms and stylised figures characterise the work of Beardsley, easily the most influential draftsman of his time.