BEARDSLEY, Aubrey Keynotes Series of Novels and Short Stories. Twenty-One Designs … with Press Notices.

The Key to Keynotes

BEARDSLEY, Aubrey Keynotes Series of Novels and Short Stories. Twenty-One Designs … with Press Notices. London: John Lane. 1896.

8vo. Publisher’s grey-green printed wrappers, design by Beardsley in black to front wrapper and illustration of Bodley Head shopfront by Edmund H. New to rear; pp. [48]; old paper repair (c. 20 x 40 mm) to upper corner of front wrapper, short closed tear to foot of front wrapper; internally very clean and bright.

John Lane’s publisher’s circular for the Keynotes series of novels and short stories, comprising Beardsley’s cover design for each book to versos and testimonials for each book to facing rectos, in wrappers designed by Beardsley.

The commission for the series came at a strange time in Lane and Beardsley’s relationship. Lane had just relieved Beardsley of his editorship of The Yellow Book as part of the purge of the ‘decadent’ elements from the Bodley Head in the wake of Oscar Wilde’s conviction for gross indecency, which partly rested upon his seduction of an employee there. Lane perhaps realised that this was an injustice to Beardsley, who was no great champion of Wilde, as he continued to send small commissions such as this one to the artist and was happy to attach the Beardsley name to his successful Keynotes series.

This pamphlet, ‘to be had at all Libraries, Booksellers, and Railway Bookstalls’, also lists forthcoming Keynotes nos. 12–33 and shows eighteen ornamental key monograms by Beardsley incorporating the initials of the author of each work.

Gertner Zatlin 861; Samuels Lasner 48.

SKU: 2124693