Books

First edition, limited to 1,000 copies on handmade paper (with a further 27 on japon), a remarkably fresh set in the original unrestored wrappers of this grand production, one of Crane's most distinguished works of illustration. Crane's designs encompass both an Art Nouveau and an Arts & Crafts aesthetic - he had, of course, worked with Morris at the Kelmscott Press - and this edition of Spenser's epic was issued at the height of his fame: he had an exhibition of his work touring Europe "and he was delighted to find that German collectors and museums bought his allegorical paintings, which chimed with German symbolist work" (ODNB). It was one of his last substantial commissions. The printing was executed for the publisher by the distinguished Chiswick Press. The editor of the text was the then-esteemed collector and bibliographer Thomas James Wise, later unveiled as a book forger. 19 parts, quarto. Original pink wrappers with design by Crane. Housed in two large red cloth clamshell cases by Zaehnsdorf. With full-page illustrations by Crane throughout. Slight wear around extremities but overall a lovely set, without fading or restoration, contents clean and partly unopened. .

The Faerie Queene is a celebrated epic poem by Edmund Spenser, first published in 1590. The poem is an allegory praising Queen Elizabeth I and reflecting the values and ideologies of Elizabethan England. It is one of the longest poems in the English language and is renowned for its richly imaginative narrative and moral allegory.