Diogenes in London

San Francisco: [Printed by] Edwin and Robert Grabhorn for John Howell, 1920. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. One of 100 copies, this copy out-of-series, quarto size, [14] pp. One of the first books printed by the Grabhorns after their move to San Francisco from Indianapolis, "Diogenes in London" is a satire by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), left unpublished during his lifetime and printed for the first time by the Grabhorn brothers; Stevenson criticises hypocrisy and cruelty through the narrative of the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes who loses his lantern in London.

The binding is by Florence Grabhorn, then-wife of Edwin Grabhorn, although they later divorced; per the Bibliography, this volume is the first Grabhorn book of which the printers were not the publishers. Also per the Bibliography, while the colophon states that one hundred and fifty-five copies were printed, actually only one hundred copies of the handmade paper edition were delivered and sold; there were also five copies printed on vellum.

___DESCRIPTION: Full brown and gold marbled paper, black paper spine label with gilt lettering, title page with illustrative border of an archway in red, section headings printed in red; Garamond type, Italian handmade paper, quarto size (10.25" by 6.25"), 14 unnumbered pages, one of 100 copies, this copy out-of-series. Tasteful prior owner bookplate on the front paste-down paper, with the name "James McDonald" and the Latin inscription "Nec Tempore Nec Fato", from the coat of arms of the Clan Donald, of Scotland.

___CONDITION: Volume is better than very good, with clean boards, straight corners, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and other than the bookplate mentioned above, entirely free of prior owner markings; there has been professional restoration to the spine, the spine is lightly sunned, a small cracke at the gutter of the first page of the introduction and between pages 10 and 11, however the text block is still strong.

___CITATION: Grabhorn Press Bibliography no. 23.

___POSTAGE:  International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

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