A Dream of John Ball and A King's Lesson

London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1903. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Good+. 6 5/8" × 4 7/8" (16.8 × 12.4 cm) . Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. First Thus. Illustrated by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. Printed by Ballantine, Hanson & Co., Edinburgh & London. 12mo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with blue linen spine and paper title label. One of 250 (reset from the Kelmscott Press edition of 1892) copies. Printed on fine, hand-made, heavy paper. Uncut, deckled edges. [vi], 169, [viii] pp. One of a Limited First Edition of and printed on handmade paper, with the frontispiece (with tissue paper intact) by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones: "When Adam Delved and Eve Span, Who then Was the Gentleman?"A Dream of John Ball has been called: "... a work of singular elevation and beauty, which may be classed either as a romance or as a study in the philosophy of history." The story describes time travel encounters between the medieval and modern worlds and is set during the English peasants' revolt of 1381, featuring the rebel priest John Ball, who appeared to be advocating a socialistic philosophy in advance of his time. John Ball is famed for his question: "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?" (depicted in the famed illustration by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones). A time-traveler tells Ball of the decline of feudalism and the rise of the Industrial Revolution. In "A King's Lesson," the Hungarian king, Matthias Corvinus, sends his nobles out to the vineyards to labor, that they may learn that the peasant life is not one of idleness. "John Ball" and "King's Lesson" first appeared separately, published in serial format in the socialist weekly "The Commonweal," 1886–87. They first appeared together in book form in 1888, as they do in the Kelmscott Press edition of 1892. Lovely bookplate of R. Kirkconnel on inside of front board. Paper label chipped and about 30% missing. Wear and light soil at edges, head, and heel. Binding tight. Bit of tape residue on front endpaper, otherwise interior bright, clean, and free of marks or blemishes. Corners and edges worn. No dust jacket, as issued. Condition overall: Good+.