Sidonia the Sorceress by Meinhold, William; translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde (mother of Oscar Wilde) - 1893

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Good+. 11 7/8 8 1/4 2. Sidonia the Sorceress; by Meinhold, William; translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde (mother of Oscar Wilde). London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press. Printed by William Morris. 1893. Limited First Edition. First Printing. Large 4to: 11 7/8" x 8 1/4" x 2" (30.2 x 21 x 5.1 cm). Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and paper title label. One of 300 [at four guineas] paper copies (plus 10 [at twenty guineas] on vellum). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the first versions of the Primrose watermark) paper. Uncut. Colophon and the large, floral printer's device designed by Morris (no. 2). [i-ii] iii-xiv, [1] 2-455 [456] pp. Printed in black and red throughout with the Golden type designed by Morris for his press. Head-title, speakers' names, and shoulder- and footnotes in red. One full-page and two three-quarter-page woodcut borders (8 and 8a), along with numerous 10-, 6-, and 3-line initials, all designed by Morris for his press, engraved by William Harcourt Hooper.Tells the tale of Sidonia von Borcke, the Pomeranian noblewoman who was tried and executed for witchcraft in 1620. Lady Wilde's translation was 1st published in 1849. Morris wrote that, "Sidonia [was] based more or less on fact, concerning the Witch Fever that afflicted Northern Europe during the latter half of the 15th & 1st half of the 16th centuries [and was] a great favorite with the more literary part of the pre-Raphaelite artists [who include William Morris and Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones], ... [D.G.] Rossetti, in particular, was an enthusiastic admirer." In early 1892, Aubrey Beardsley produced a frontispiece drawing of Sidonia. Morris's rejection of the illustration caused great indignation in Beardsley. [Forman pp. 168 & 220. Peterson A19 & 51.]  Most copies were bound in original limp vellum with silk ties, but according to Peterson: "Cockerell instructed Leighton to bind thirty copies in 'half Holland uniform with THE GOLDEN LEGEND,' and these were later donated to British and American libraries."Provenance: "Given by Mrs. William Morris in Memory of Her Husband 1897" (bookplate to front paste down). The most minimal library markings. One stamp to ffep scraped of by previous owner and now barely visible. Ink numbers to verso of title. Light browning to a few ff. Paper label to spine chipped with loss of 1 letter and part of another. Spine lightly browned and stained and with small circular paper label removed. Spine ends and joints little frayed. Slight soiling to boards with corners bumped and a bit worn. Condition overall: Good+.