Beardsley (Aubrey).- Symons (Arthur) The Savoy: An Illustrated Quarterly

Beardsley (Aubrey).- Symons (Arthur) The Savoy: An Illustrated Quarterly, 8 vol., first edition, plates and illustrations by Beardsley, Sickert, Rothenstein, Beerbohm, Rossetti, Shannon etc., Christmas card tipped-into vol.1 at half-title, without publisher's slip in vol.7, some foxing, more so in vol.7 & 8, vol.1 endpapers lightly browned, vol.1 & 2 in original pink pictorial boards, the rest in original green pictorial wrappers, some light rubbing and fraying, spines lightly toned and creased, vol.1 a little darkened, marginal tears to vol.8 covers, only just affecting price on upper cover, but generally a sharp and excellent set, preserved in custom drop-back box, [Lasner 103 & 103a], 4to, Leonard Smithers, January-December, 1896. *** An excellent set of what Holbrook Jackson called "the most satisfying achievement of 'fin de siecle' journalism in England." The arrest of Oscar Wilde and the dismissal of Aubrey Beardsley as the art editor of The Yellow Book created difficulties for the artists and writers of the 1890s. Smithers's enterprise was therefore most timely. However, employing Beardsley was not without its problems - his cover illustration for no.1 having to be suppressed, for example, as it depicted a young boy urinating on The Yellow Book. Symons' editorship was crucial in recruiting writers such as Yeats, Conrad, Shaw, Verlaine, Ernest Dowson and John Gray.

Estimate:£1,500

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