Books

Limitation of 1,000 copies -- the colophon informs us that the stones upon which the plates were printed were destroyed by the German invasion of Belgium during the early phase of the First World War. 4to. 30.5 by 23.5 cm. 36 pp. 12 illustrated, two toned plates, with Alastair illustrations. 10 of these are referenced in the List of Illustrations, and the other two are at the beginning and the end. These two are also on a folded sheet that is about 2 cm shorter, as well as about the same shy of the width of facing pages elsewhere. Alastair (1887-1969) was a German-born self-taught artist whose style was obviously greatly influenced by Beardsley, and he emulated Beardsley, too, in illustrating works of Oscar Wilde, who was the perfect template for Alastair's imagination, which gloried in decadence, as Wilde did decades earlier. This work, "The Sphinx", was Alastair's first published work based on Wilde's writing, and it is the work that exposed a far larger audience to his distinctive, highly stylized, artwork. The cloth cover, designed by Charles Ricketts, has a light film of dusty soiling, which is removable with effort, and a scattering of other small light stains, which are not susceptible to the simple eraser. The interior is generally quite clean and lovely. The hinge is cracked in one place. Decorated Cloth (Gilt impressed) Limited Edition, First Edition Thus (with Alastair illustrations).

The Sphinx is a one-act play written by Oscar Wilde. It's a dramatic monologue by a woman who laments the absence of her lover, who has died. The richness of the symbolic imagery intertwines themes of love with the mystery of the Sphinx.