Books

London - New York: William Heinemann - Doubleday, Page & Co., 1921. From limitation page: "This Edition is limited to 550 copies numbered and signed by the Artist, of which 400 are for sale in the United Kingdom, 100 for sale in the United States of America, and 50 for presentation. This is No. 514. Arthur Rackham". Folio 9 1/4" x 12" gift book design. Cream vellum spine wrap w/gilt titles, some rub. Front board features stylized gilt cover titles and several ogre-like creatures including donkey, goat, wolf and owl. Color frontispiece plate w/caption: "All amidst the Gardens fair, Of Hesperus, and his daughters three, That sing about the golden tree." Fine tissue guard w/printed caption. Thick, deckled pages near fine, clean. Gilt top edge w/some rub. Green pictorial endpapers with white silhouettes of four maidens bounding past tree and small satyr-like beings in pursuit. Bind good; hinges intact. Features two dozen tipped-in color plates on thick matte pages by…

Comus: A Mask, also known as simply Comus, is a masque written by John Milton in 1634. It was first presented on Michaelmas night, September 29, 1634, before John Egerton, the Earl of Bridgewater, at Ludlow Castle in celebration of his inauguration as Lord President of Wales. Known for its themes of chastity and virtue, the narrative of Comus follows the Lady who is lost in the woods and tempted by the enchanter Comus. Her virtue and steadfastness against seduction are celebrated in the masque.

Identifying a first edition of Comus would entail research into the typography, paper, binding, and any available historical records of the 1634 edition published by Humphrey Robinson.