Tale of Lohengrin, The by POGANY, Willy; ROLLESTON, T.W.; WAGNER, Richard

London: G.G. Harrap, 1913. One of Pogany's Masterpieces
Limited to 525 Copies Signed by the Artist

POGANY, Willy (illustrator). ROLLESTON, T.W. WAGNER, Richard. The Tale of Lohengrin, Knight of the Swan after the Drama of Richard Wagner by T.W. Rolleston. Presented by Willy Pogany. London: G.G. Harrap, n .d. [1913].

Limited to 525 copies signed by the artist, this being copy no. 90. Quarto. Eight tipped-in color plates, numerous full page color illustrations, calligraphic text, head- tailpieces; an image on every page. Printed on heavy grey stock.

Full vellum, pictorially gilt-stamped. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. A fine copy. Housed in a blue cloth slipcase.

William Andrew ("Willy") Pogany (born Vilmos Andreas Pogány) (August 1882 - 30 July 1955) was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's and other books. Pogany's best known works consist of illustrations of classic myths and legends done in the Art Nouveau style. He also worked as an art director on several Hollywood films, including Fashions of 1934 and Dames.

The publication of Pogány's Lohengrin was the final act in his trilogy of masterworks focused on Wagner's Germanic tales, and one of the quintet that is considered his finest work. Pogány clearly approached the commission to illustrate Lohengrin as an opportunity to improve and extend techniques that he had developed through his preceding work, particularly The Rubáiyat of Omar Khayyám, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Tannhäuser and Parsifal, the other four books that immortalized his career as an illustrator. That commitment to ongoing innovation resulted in an incredible suite of illustrations, including color lithographs, monotone and marginal illustrations and the delightful tipped-in color plates (produced with a four-color process) included in Lohengrin. Themes of medieval chivalry, erotic love and moral tests are illustrated in a lavish fashion by Pogány with an outstanding use of iconography, form and color.