[BEARDSLEY, Aubrey.] Morte Darthur Portfolio [Reproductions of eleven designs omitted from the first edition of Le Morte Darthur illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley and published in MDCCCXCII also those madefor the covers of the issue in parts and a facsimile print of the Merlin drawing]. Edinburgh: Printed by Turnbull and Spears, and published at Aldine House London by J. M. Dent & Sons. 1927.
4to. In the original quarter calf and vellum over boards, upper board with stylised flower design tooled in gilt within narrow triple-ruled gilt frame after Beardsley, spine lettered in gilt, upper edge gilt and others untrimmed; front board a little soiled and gently bowed; pp. 45, [3], with initials, frames, ornaments, and 14 illustrations by Beardsley (one mounted); some light offsetting but generally very good.
First limited edition, number 295 of 300 copies printed on handmade paper, with eleven Beardsley designs omitted from the first edition of Le Morte Darthur, as well as the designs made for the covers of the parts and a reproduction of the Merlin drawing.
The publisher J. M. Dent had planned, at the end of the nineteenth century, to create a lavish and beautiful illustrated version of Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, in a similar vein to William Morris’s Kelmscott Press books, but using a less expensive printing process. Loathe to pay the elevated fee Morris would have charged for this commission, Dent was persuaded to employ Aubrey Beardsley. Le Morte Darthur was first published in 1893, with a new edition following in 1909. A third edition was issued in 1927, with ten new designs omitted from the first but included in the second, as well as three new drawings never before printed – two for the paper cover of the first edition issued in parts, and an eleventh chapter heading. A facsimile reproduction of the Merlin drawing was also included. This portfolio was created so that owners of the original large paper edition could obtain the additional illustrations without purchasing the entire third edition. It is, however, a beautiful book in its own right, and a lovely addition to any Beardley or Morte Darthur collection.
With a foreword by the Scottish newspaper editor Aymer Vallance and a note on the omitted designs by Rainforth Armitage Walker, author of the catalogue of Aubrey Beardsley’s drawings.
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