A House of Pomegranates.: The Design & Decoration of This Book by C. Ricketts & C. H. Shannon.

London: James R. Osgood McIlvaine & Co.,, 1891. A handsomely illustrated and richly produced collection of Wilde's fairy-stories First edition, one of 1,000 copies. This is an attractive copy of Wilde's collection of fairy-stories. The rich illustrations by the noted Art Nouveau designers Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon are often found distinctly faded - in this copy they are notably well-defined. Stuart Mason notes that "After the book was finished and bound it was noticed that a dusty deposit had formed on each plate... to take off this deposit each plate was rubbed with soft flannel, which removed the surface and left the reproductions faint and in some cases almost obliterated" (p. 365). A House of Pomegranates contains "more ornate fairy-stories than the Happy Prince collection and more directly socialist" (ODNB). Quarto. Original green cloth-backed pale brown boards, spine and front cover lettered and decorated in gilt, front cover elaborately decorated and lettered in orange, light green printed endpapers. Engraved title page, 4 plates and numerous small engravings in the text. Ink inscription of yin-yang symbol and "11 May 1901" to initial blank. Light bumping and wear to extremities, slight lean to spine, minor finger soiling to covers, slight cracking to inner hinges, toning to contents, slight separation between several gatherings: a very good copy. Mason 347.