Malory's Le Morte d'Art with Aubrey Beardsley Illustrations [The Birth Life and Acts of King Arthur of his Noble Knights of the Round Table their Marvellous Enquests and Adventures, the Achieving of the San Greal and in the End Le Morte DArthur with the Dolourous Death and Departing Out of the World of them All]

New York: E. P. Dutton, 1927. Third Beardsley Edition. Hardcover in Custom Slipcase. Very Good/No Dust Jacket As Issued. Beardsley, Aubrey, illustrator.

One of 1600 copies. The Third Beardsley Edition.

Original gilt decorated and stamped black cloth, rebacked with original spine and front cover laid down, beveled edges, untrimmed, top edge gilt, custom later blue quarter leather slipcase. 11.25 by 8.75 inches; lv, [1], 538 pp. Illustrated with 20 full page plates, including 2 from etchings and 18 from woodcuts (five are double-page) by Aubrey Beardsley with tissue-guards, plus approx. 280 woodcut chapter headers, initials, borders and ornaments throughout the text. Without dust jacket.

Contains an Introduction by John Rhys. Note on Aubrey Beardsley by Aymer Vallance. Note on the designs which were omitted from the first edition by R. A. Walker. Caxton's Preface from the 1485 edition and a Glossary.

The bindings are tight and square. Text clean, light even toning. Moderate shelf handling wear. Light binding wear, frontispiece offsetting through tissue guard, a couple minor paper repairs; still near fine.. Aubrey Beardsley's first major work. An elaborately illustrated edition of Sir Thomas Malory's masterpiece, from Caxton's 1485 typographic classic.

Beardsley's illustrations to Le Morte d'Arthur are a mix of knights and fauns, swans, fantasy figures, all in his "fin-de-siècle" style. This edition is the first to include all of the eleven designs that were omitted from the first edition.

Seeking to emulate the books of the Kelmscott Press John Dent commissioned Beardsley for 20 full-page drawings and about 100 smaller in-text designs as well as nearly 350 initial letters for Le Morte Darthur.

Beasley's chief model was his friend Burne-Jones. As he progressed his designs became almost a parody of the Gothic style. Upon learning that William Morris had :sorn a terrible oath against me for daring to bring out a book in this manner," Beasley replied, "while his work is a mere imitation of the old stud, mime is fresh and original." [Ray]

The Morte d'Arthur is the most famous version and the first in English prose of all the legends which have been collected .... The matchless style, the humor, the magic that takes away the breath .... Each century has produced it's own version ... but Malory's will never be forgotten. [PMM]

Ref Ahearn, 452; Ray, 194; PMM, 29