avant l'avant-garde
VASSALL-FOX, Henry Richard, 3rd Baron Holland of Holland, and 3rd Baron Holland of Foxley. Eve's Legend by Lord Holland, Adorned With Engravings on Wood by Hester Sainsbury. London: [Chiswick Press] for Etchells & Macdonald. 1928.
Foolscap folio. Entirely uncut in the original patterned boards with printed lettering-piece to spine, in the original slipcase with label with hand-coloured wood-engraving; pp. 65, [3], title-page within hand-coloured wood-engraved border, numerous hand-coloured wood-engravings; hinges with minimal wear, spine of slip-case with private lettering by hand and a little darkened; minimal spotting here and there to the hand-made paper; a very attractive copy.
First edition, one of 300 copies (review copy) of this short novel, omitting all vowels apart from "e", written in 1824 by the eminent Whig politician, writer and avid reader of Spanish literature. Eve's Legend is a 19th-century precursor to the constraints of the Oulipo school. Lord Holland had been inspired by works by the Spanish writer of the Siglo de Oro, Isidoro de Robles. Georges Perec, founding member of Oulipo, referred to the same author in theoretical writings.
Hester Sainsbury became a successful artist and print-maker in the 1920s, being known among other things for using an engraving tool that cut multiple parallel lines rather than the usual one. She made fine art prints and illustrations by engraving both copper and wood. The author Philip Neil describes her engravings as "fresh, supple, and irresistibly charming." The review in The Spectator of January 12, 1929 informs us that the price was rather high, £8 3s.
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