And Other, With Designs On Wood
The Fables of Aesop And Other, With Designs On Wood
Bewick and Son, 1818.
First edition, demy paper issue. 8vo in halves. Finely bound in late-nineteenth century green half morocco by Henry Young. Five raised bands, gilt compartments, decoration and lettering to the spine. Top edge gilt. 188 wood-engraved headpieces - one for each fable, and 136 further vignettes and tailpieces. A fine copy, very fresh, with just a little spotting to the first and last blanks.
One of 1,000 copies on demy paper, from a total edition of 2,000. Those on demy paper "were apparently the first to be issued" (Roscoe), as they show a woodcut of the devil as tailpiece to the introduction, suppressed in the other issues.
"In 1811 work began on Bewick's last book, his Fables of Aesop and Others (1818, 2nd edn 1823). He planned the enterprise during convalescence from illness, writing some fables of his own and reworking or taking unacknowledged contributions from others. The engravings were designed on the wood by Bewick with his drawing finished in the greatest detail; the cutting was done by apprentices under his close supervision and where necessary later refined by their master" (ODNB).
Roscoe 45c, Tattersfield TB 1.35.
Stock ID: 38952
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