A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

London: J. M. Dent & Co, 1895. 200 x 158 mm. (8 x 6 1/4"). li, [iii], 128 pp., [1] leaf.Edited and with an introduction by Israel Gollancz.
ELEGANT DARK NAVY BLUE MOROCCO, GILT, BY DE SAUTY (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), WITH ELABORATE GILT FLORAL TOOLING AND VERY MANY ONLAID CITRON MOROCCO FLOWERS forming a quatrefoil design on lower cover, and a broad, encroaching frame on the upper cover, raised bands, spine gilt in compartments with gilt floral designs, gilt lettering, all edges gilt (expertly rejointed). With numerous black & white illustrations (including some full-page and a few double-page) throughout by Robert Anning Bell. ◆Spine slightly dulled, text a bit browned at edges because of paper quality, otherwise fine, the beautifully decorated covers lustrous and without signs of use.

This charming illustrated edition of Shakespeare's fanciful comedy comes in a beautifully decorated binding that calls to mind the floral bower where the fairy Queen Titania entertains Bottom in "Dream's" unforgettable play-within-a-play. In this printing of the work, the great Shakespeare scholar Israel Gollancz (1863-1930) presents "this wonderful fairy-tale told three-hundred years ago by the greatest of story-tellers" without "those terrible Notes" added by Johnson, Theobald, and Steevens. A strong advocate for making Shakespeare accessible to a wider public, he offers in an introduction a brief synopsis of the action, including a diagram explaining the shifting affections between Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena, and provides a glossary of unfamiliar or antiquated words at the end. The reader is free to enjoy the beauty of the poetry, accented by Bell's delightful illustrations. The enjoyment of our copy is particularly enhanced by its wonderfully decorated binding. One of the most accomplished binders at work in the first third of the 20th century, Alfred de Sauty (1870-1949) was the son of an engineer who had studied that discipline himself before taking up bookbinding, and he brings an engineer's precision to his handiwork. He not only possessed enormous technical skill (he made his own tools), but also had a refined imagination for design. He began his career as a finisher for the renowned Riviere bindery, and after leaving their employ in the late 1890s, he worked as a designer at the Hampstead bindery; in her essay "The Mysterious Mr. De Sauty," binding authority Marianne Tidcombe observes, "De Sauty was responsible for some of the best designs of the two binderies, and carried out all the stages of the craft himself, from sewing to the designing and exceptionally delicate tooling of the covers." Nixon and Prideaux both praise the brilliance of his finishing skills. In 1922, De Sauty left England for America: he had been recruited to become the manager of the Extra Bindery at RR Donnelly Co. in Chicago, where he did much to raise the standards of hand bookbinding in the United States..