First edition of Harry Clarke's surreal, gothic Art Nouveau illustrations, in the scarce dust jacket
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. Copies in the dust jacket are scarce. We could locate just seven appearances of the jacket on the market in commercial records, which included a review of Rare Book Hub, the ABSA database, WorthPoint, and the major auction sites.
Condition and Description: Large quarto (10.75" x 8.75"), olive cloth, stamped in black and gilt, top edge gilt, with all 24 plates and additional in-text vignettes by Harry Clarke present. An uncommonly well-preserved example, with clean boards, bright gilt, and undisturbed stamping. Minimal surface and edgewear, foredge tips bumped. Contemporary owner's name in ink on the half-title; else clear. Some age spotting between the two leaves following the half title. Clean pages with occasional minor imperfections, as shown. The incredibly scarce jacket is a little shorter than the book (as issued), with tears to the front panel (neatly reinforced on the verso with tape), edgewear, and darkening (especially at the spine). A large, visually arresting volume that commands presence on shelf or display.
"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 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: 890 - 581 - 072
First edition of Harry Clarke's surreal, gothic Art Nouveau illustrations, in the scarce dust jacket
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. Copies in the dust jacket are scarce. We could locate just seven appearances of the jacket on the market in commercial records, which included a review of Rare Book Hub, the ABSA database, WorthPoint, and the major auction sites.
Condition and Description: Large quarto (10.75" x 8.75"), olive cloth, stamped in black and gilt, top edge gilt, with all 24 plates and additional in-text vignettes by Harry Clarke present. An uncommonly well-preserved example, with clean boards, bright gilt, and undisturbed stamping. Minimal surface and edgewear, foredge tips bumped. Contemporary owner's name in ink on the half-title; else clear. Some age spotting between the two leaves following the half title. Clean pages with occasional minor imperfections, as shown. The incredibly scarce jacket is a little shorter than the book (as issued), with tears to the front panel (neatly reinforced on the verso with tape), edgewear, and darkening (especially at the spine). A large, visually arresting volume that commands presence on shelf or display.
"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 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: 890 - 581 - 072
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