First edition of Harry Clarke's surreal illustrations, in the publisher's scarce suede binding
Publisher and Year: London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1919
Edition: First trade edition, first printing (MCMXIX on the title page) of Harry Clarke's illustrated collection of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. The publisher offered the book in several binding styles, with cloth being the cheapest and a signed limited edition in full vellum being the most expensive. The present copy is bound in the publisher's burgundy suede, which they advertised as a "velvet Persian yapp" binding. Copies in suede, which were priced twice as much as cloth (30s vs. 15s), appear much less frequently on the market. No dust jacket, as issued.
Condition and Description: Quarto (10.75" x 8.75"), flexible suede boards stamped in black and gilt, top edge gilt, with all 24 plates and additional in-text vignettes by Harry Clarke present. The edges of the suede covers extend past the text block, a method called "yapp," which was meant to provide protection for the page edges. Gilt bright with a touch of rubbing. Tightly bound, with all pages attached. A little separation at the top and bottom of the title page (refer to the final two pictures). A Christmas 1919 inscription in ink is present on the front free endpaper. No other prior owner's markings. Occasional minor imperfections to the pages. An uncommonly well-preserved example of a fragile binding, which is normally found in much worse condition.
"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality."– Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial.
Clarke’s illustrations give form to the world of horror that Poe conjured, amplifying their impact through a visual language as ornate and unsettling as the tales themselves. Born in Dublin in 1889, Clarke trained as both an illustrator and stained-glass artist and became one of the central figures of the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. By the time Tales of Mystery and Imagination appeared in 1919, he was already celebrated for his intricate, jewel-like stained glass. In this first major book commission, he brought that same precision and Symbolist intensity to twenty-four monochrome plates. Drawing on Art Nouveau line work and Gothic sensibility, Clarke created images that seem to inhabit Poe’s world rather than merely depict it, producing nightmarish visions that have secured his place as one of the defining illustrators of the early twentieth century.
Inventory ID: 270 - 179 - 999
First edition of Harry Clarke's surreal illustrations, in the publisher's scarce suede binding
Publisher and Year: London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1919
Edition: First trade edition, first printing (MCMXIX on the title page) of Harry Clarke's illustrated collection of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. The publisher offered the book in several binding styles, with cloth being the cheapest and a signed limited edition in full vellum being the most expensive. The present copy is bound in the publisher's burgundy suede, which they advertised as a "velvet Persian yapp" binding. Copies in suede, which were priced twice as much as cloth (30s vs. 15s), appear much less frequently on the market. No dust jacket, as issued.
Condition and Description: Quarto (10.75" x 8.75"), flexible suede boards stamped in black and gilt, top edge gilt, with all 24 plates and additional in-text vignettes by Harry Clarke present. The edges of the suede covers extend past the text block, a method called "yapp," which was meant to provide protection for the page edges. Gilt bright with a touch of rubbing. Tightly bound, with all pages attached. A little separation at the top and bottom of the title page (refer to the final two pictures). A Christmas 1919 inscription in ink is present on the front free endpaper. No other prior owner's markings. Occasional minor imperfections to the pages. An uncommonly well-preserved example of a fragile binding, which is normally found in much worse condition.
"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality."– Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial.
Clarke’s illustrations give form to the world of horror that Poe conjured, amplifying their impact through a visual language as ornate and unsettling as the tales themselves. Born in Dublin in 1889, Clarke trained as both an illustrator and stained-glass artist and became one of the central figures of the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. By the time Tales of Mystery and Imagination appeared in 1919, he was already celebrated for his intricate, jewel-like stained glass. In this first major book commission, he brought that same precision and Symbolist intensity to twenty-four monochrome plates. Drawing on Art Nouveau line work and Gothic sensibility, Clarke created images that seem to inhabit Poe’s world rather than merely depict it, producing nightmarish visions that have secured his place as one of the defining illustrators of the early twentieth century.
Inventory ID: 270 - 179 - 999
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